


Dancing On My Own

by CatsBalletHarveySpecter



Category: Suits (US TV), Suits (US TV) RPF
Genre: Darvey - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-03 17:18:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatsBalletHarveySpecter/pseuds/CatsBalletHarveySpecter
Summary: How will Harvey feel when Donna decides to start bringing Thomas as her date to firm events?





	1. Dancing on My Own - Ch 1

Ch 1 - Dancing on My Own

I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her

I'm right over here, why can't you see me

And I'm giving it my all but I'm not the guy you're taking home

I keep dancing on my own

She always said she hated PDA. And yet there he was, hand placed on her lower back, guiding her across the room as they greet a few of the partners.

She looked happy. Happier then he'd seen her look in a long time. He should be happy for her. He wants to be happy for her.

And yet, he finds himself alone at the bar, finding the bottom of his glass for the second time that evening. The thought of his hands on her driving him to order another, and another.

How did he let it get to this? Watching as he makes her laugh, he feels sick. That should be him making her laugh, telling her how beautiful she looked, like he likely had when he picked her up.

He knows he screwed up and watching her in the arms of another man he fears he'll never get the chance to try and make it right. He supposes it's for the best, she deserves better. He stays rooted in his spot as Louis gets up to thank everyone for coming and welcomes everyone to the dance floor. If he hadn't been required to attend, he wouldn't be within 50 miles of this place, watching her follow him onto the dance floor. He watches as he takes her in his arms and sways her to the music. She finds Harvey's eyes over his shoulder and sends him a tight-lipped smile.

What is he doing? Was he really going to let her slip away without telling her? But how could he tell her after all these years? He couldn't be the person to take away her chance at happiness, not again. So, he returns her smile and turns back to his drink. He's numb with pain. This is his life now, and there's nothing he can do about it. She's gone and he's just going to have to accept it.

Thomas was a wonderful man. He made her laugh, he was interested in her work and he made her feel loved. There was just one problem; he wasn't Harvey.

She hated PDA, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to tell Thomas that, so she let his hand linger across her back as they greeted several of the firm's partners.

She was happy, truly happy, for the first time in a long time. But part of her heart still ached over a man that was never even hers.

Things between her and Harvey were different lately. Ever since she introduced him to Thomas the dynamic between them had shifted. Rather than the "back-to-normal" flirty friendship they fell into after his failed relationship with Paula, the pair settled for a strictly business relationship; only conversing when work required they do so, making small talk to fill the silence. It was similar to the relationship they shared when she first went to work for Louis, and she hated it.

In the past when she talked about her relationships with Harvey, he would pretend to be un-bothered, though he often later admitted he despite the fact he was bothered, he didn't want more. This time was no exception. When she told him she was seeing someone, he said he was happy for her. His mouth may have said he was happy for her, but she swore his eyes were saying otherwise. Maybe she was imaging it, because deep down part of her would always want him to fight for her. But she had decided she couldn't wait around forever. She deserved to be happy, and if Thomas made her happy then what did it matter what Harvey thought.

Thomas was being the perfect gentlemen this evening, as always. He told her how stunning she looked in her emerald green dress when he picked her up, passing her a small bouquet of lilies as he kissed her hello. She was never a huge fan of lilies, but the gesture made her smile. They meet three months prior at a firm event much like the one they were attending tonight. Thomas had been a long-time client at the firm but the pair had never been introduced, not formally. She thinks back to that night as she watches Harvey place his empty glass on the bar and head outside, over Thomas' shoulder as he twirls her across the dance floor.

She never minded the black-tie firm events. She was great in social situations and could easily read the room, but she knew Harvey hated them. He'd been complaining about this particular event to her for the past two weeks over late-night drinks. Late night drinks that had become a nightly routine for Harvey and Donna. She agreed they could meet in his office for drinks before heading to the party, just to help put him at ease.

She'd already gone home to change and was sitting at her desk when she hears a slight knock on the door.

"Donnnaa" he grins

"Harvey" she counters

"You look incredible" he smiles causing her cheeks to redden

"Thank you, you don't clean up so badly yourself" she flirts and rounds her desk until she is close enough to reach out and straighten his tie

"What would I do without you?" he smirks, breathing in her perfume and letting the back of his palm brush against hers.

"Let's hope you never have to find out" she smiles. Even though they're just joking around she somehow always managed to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere.

He makes his way to her decanter and pours them both a drink. The past few months they'd been spending more and more time together outside the office, Harvey often coming up with excuses for them to do things together. He liked spending time with her, and the more time they spent together the more certain he became about the way that he loved her. He had been debating telling her for a while but a small nagging thought in the back of his mind was holding him back. She didn't feel anything when she kissed him.

It never occurred to him that she may have lied to spare his relationship, so he decided it would be best for their friendship if he didn't bring up his feelings; as hard as that may suddenly seem to be for a man who had always been so emotionally unavailable.

"He brings her drink over to her and joins her on the couch with a small exhausted sigh.

"Busy week?" she asks

"It's always a busy week lately… With Louis trying to bring in so many new clients it's been a busy month"

"I'm proud of you, you know?" she smiles

"Why's that?" he asks, sliding closer to her as he waits for her answer.

"Working so well with Louis as managing partner"

"That's because when Louis asks me to do something, I know most of the time it's coming from you" he grins

"So basically, what your saying is you work for me now" she winks

"Let's not get carried away" he chuckles, "We both know I would do anything for you" he says, eyes meeting hers and turning the light conversation into a more serious one in an instant.

Her eyes meet his and she holds his gaze, the specks of hazel in his eyes evident under the office lighting; she'd never noticed how nice his eyes were before.

"Anything?" she near whispers bringing her gaze momentarily down towards his lips

"Anything" he whispers back, reaching his tongue out to wet his lower lip as closes his eyes and leans in slightly. He can hear her breath catch in her throat as she mirrors his movements, leaning in towards him, the smell of her perfume intoxicating as she closes her eyes and places a gentle hand on his knee. He hadn't planned on this happening, but maybe it was his opportunity to see if she truly felt nothing when she kissed him. He knew this probably wasn't the best idea, it would likely complicate things between them, but he wanted nothing more then to feel her lips on his. He's so close he can feel her breath on his lips when Louis interrupts with a loud, "There you two are! I thought we were meeting in the lobby 10 minutes ago" Ruining the moment, whatever the moment was, and leaving only the ghost of her lips on his.

"Sorry Louis, I guess we just lost track of time" Donna mumbles, scrambling to grab her belongings and keep her composer.

The pair follow Louis onto the elevator and into the car waiting outside. The ride to the party is silent, neither Harvey nor Donna wanting to address their maybe moment at all, let alone with Louis present. Louis reminds them to book their flights to the upcoming firm retreat. As managing partner, he had decided it was important for the partners in the firm to get along; in a few months they were spending a week in Utah, getting to know each other. She doesn't know what came over her, so she chalks it up to a moment of weakness. The last few months her and Harvey had been spending a lot of time together and it was getting harder to keep her feelings bottled up. She always assumed there was something there between them and kissing him in her office confirmed what she suspected all those years of working side by side. She didn't expect Harvey to kiss her back, but he did, and she was hoping he had the same realization she did; she wanted more. But he snapped at her afterwards, blaming her for making him the one thing he always loathed; a cheater. She doubts their kiss alone was the reason his relationship with Paula came to an end, but she felt guilty that it was such a large factor, so she lied and told him she didn't feel anything. Harvey's reaction to their shared kiss was not at all what she had hoped for, but they had somehow recovered and made it back to the flirty relationship they called normal.

Harvey's mind is spinning on the way to the party and he wonder's what she's thinking. By the time the car pulls up to the curb outside of the party, he's made up his mind about one thing, he's going to tell her he wants more tonight.

The party is a typical black-tie firm event; cocktails, music, dancing, all things Harvey is not a fan of. He orders two drinks from the bar and brings one over to where Donna is mingling with a few clients.

"Thank you" she smiles. He nods back and joins in on the group conversation. Just as she's about to finish her drink her leans over and whispers in her ear, "Dance with me"

Her stomach flips as the words leave his mouth as more of a statement then a question and she sends a questioning look in his direction. Harvey Specter did not dance at firm events. He was a strictly business man who attended events to keep up appearances and sign new clients. She was well aware of this, which is why she decides to let her curiosity get the best of her and next thing she knows he's leading her to the dance floor.

They dance to a few songs and chit chat about firm business and the attendees at the party as Harvey twirls her around to the upbeat tune until the next song that plays is much slower. She's ready for him to release her from his grip when he pulls her flush against his chest and begins to sway them to the music. She rests her head on his shoulder as the music drones on and he closes his eyes, both enjoying the closeness of the other.

"Donna" he says, looking down at her

"Yes?"

"There's something I want to talk to you about. Well tell you really" he mumbles, he's nervous.

"What is it Harvey?" she smiles

"Do you remember before your promotion when you came to me and said you wanted more?" he begins

"Yes?" she says hesitantly, unaware of where he's going with this.

"Well I…"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to welcome the chair of tonight's event for a few words" he's cut off by the MC for the evening.

He slowly releases Donna from his arms as they make their way back towards the table Louis is standing at. Before they reach Louis, he pauses and places his hand on her arm, "Can we finish this later?"

"Sure" she smiles back.

When they reach Louis, he tells Harvey one of his clients, Mr. Clarkson had been looking for him so Harvey heads out to see if he can find him. Louis pauses to introduce Donna to the group of clients he's talking to, Susan Parks, Zachary Waters and Thomas Kessler. She shakes each of their hands and joins in on the group conversation, the handsome Thomas Kessler eyeing her not going unnoticed, she was Donna after all. Once a few members of the group excuse themselves from the conversation, Thomas asks if he can buy her a drink. Then he asks her to dance. He was incredibly charming, a great conversationalist, and seemed genuinely interested in her work and she was having a lovely evening getting to know him.

When Harvey returns from speaking with Mr. Clarkson he scans the room for Donna to find her dancing with a handsome tall man he recognizes as one of Louis clients. He thought nothing of it until he watched as Thomas placed a kiss on Donna's cheek causing her to blush. God damn it. Why tonight of all nights? He thinks to himself as he orders another drink.

Donna excuses herself to head to the washroom when she runs into Harvey who is on his way out, coat in hand.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you" she exclaims

"You seemed a little busy to me" Harvey mumbles, watching as Donna's smiles slowly falls

"Harvey" she tries

"It's alright Donna, go and have a nice night, I was just headed out anyways"

"Didn't you have something you wanted to tell me?" she asks

He pauses for a moment. It was now or never. But his confidence from early was shaken after seeing her face light up as she listened to Thomas tell her a joke, and that voice in the back of his head was screaming 'SHE DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING WHEN SHE KISSED YOU'

"It's not important anymore. Goodnight Donna" he offers a smile as he walks past her in the direction of the door.

She's left wondering what he wanted to tell her, part of her hopeful that he was going to tell her he realized he wanted more. She's deep in thought when Thomas comes up behind her and taps her lightly on the shoulder, coat in hand, "Ready to go?" he asks

"Yes" she smiles and takes his hand as they leave the party.

The next few weeks at the office are awkward. Harvey seems to be avoiding her and she wonder's if he's heard that she's been going on dates with Thomas. She decides to give him space until she and Thomas decide to make it official and she feels she should tell him. He accepts what she tells him with a small smile and tells her he's happy for her, when he fears she may have just shattered his heart with the news. He wants to be happy for her, but he can't get past the anger he feels at himself for waiting so long to tell her how he feels.

He even meets Thomas one day when he picks Donna up after work and smiles politely and shakes his hand, even thought he wants to punch this guy right in his handsome face. He can't bring himself to do that to her, not when she's happy.

They stop spending time together outside of work. They barely have conversations if not about work. The shift in dynamic between the name partner and COO does not go unnoticed by their coworkers but not one dares to bring it up. Harvey yells at any associate he can find and is on his third assistant of the month, but Donna seems happier then ever.

He decides he can't handle being inside, watching him with her as Thomas places a kiss into Donna's cheek, causing her to blush. He downs his drink with one swift motion and places his glass on the bar before heading out to the balcony. He really messed up this time. He lost his chance. She was happy. She was happy with someone else.

She mumbles something to Thomas and excuses herself, making her way towards the exit leading to the balcony.


	2. When The Party's Over

Ch 2 – When The Party's Over

Don't you know too much already  
I'll only hurt you if you let me  
Call me friend but keep me closer (Call me back)  
And I'll call you when the party's over

"A little chilly out here, isn't it?" she says, walking up and leaning against the railing next to him

"Nothing I can't handle" he mumbles, keeping his eyes glued on the skyline

"So, this is how it's going to be from now on, huh?" she says, raising her voice slightly, but not enough to hide the hurt lingering in it

"What do you want me to say Donna? That I'm happy for you? Because I told you I was" he mumbles, still facing away from her, worried that even one look at her will break him further

"You don't seem happy for me Harvey!" she yells

"Do you think it's easy? For me to see you with him?!" he says, finally turning to face a red faced, angry Donna

She tilts her head and raises an eyebrow in response

"You don't get to do that"

"Do what?"

"The whole 'It bothers me, but I don't want more' bullshit!" her face is now flushed with anger as she yells at him

"YOU DON'T GET TO TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME HARVEY!"

"And what if it bothers me and I do want more?!" he screams back

She stares back, shocked and angry at him for ruining this for her when she knew he would never man up and make a move.

"What?" she says, barely above a whisper

"What if I want more?" he says firmly, stepping towards her

The anger has fallen from her voice now and the tears begin to fall as she speaks, "You don't get to want more! You had 13 years to want more Harvey! And now just because I'm finally happy with someone else you think you can suddenly decide you want more?! Is this just some big game to you? Because if it is, I don't want to play anymore" she exhales and crosses her arms across her chest, partly for warmth, but mostly to make a statement.

"Donna" he tries

"No Harvey! You don't get to lead me on just to shut me out again! We've been down this road too many times and I refuse to do it again!" She's yelling again, frustrated with how calm he seems to be.

Staring down at his shoe, he decides he can't miss his opportunity, not again.

"Did you feel anything when you kissed me?" he mumbles

She stares at him, fuming.

"You don't get to ask me things like that anymore!" she exclaims

"Oh, but you get to ask me things like that?" he fires back

"When have I ever…?" she begins

"Really Donna? How about when you asked me how I love you, ring any bells?"

"Well it's not like you answered it!" she screams back

"I don't think you want an answer!" he yells back

"Oh ya, try me!" she screams, their exchange getting rather heated

"I.." he pauses, unable to put how he feels about her into words. It's too big, too much. It's such a simple simple statement, 5 words really, but he can't seem to make his mouth move. His heart seems to know the words his mind and mouth won't say.

"That's what I thought" she says, turning towards the door back into he party.

"Donna"

"Have a nice night, Harvey" and with that she leaves him outside alone with his thoughts.

He wipes at the tear that has formed in the corner of his eye and turns back to look over the city once more. He's boiling with anger and frustration. How could she not see that this wasn't a game to him, that he really wanted more. The timing of her relationship with Thomas couldn't have been worse. He understands why she thinks Thomas is the only reason he has sudden feelings for her, but for once in her life he knows, Donna Paulsen is wrong. His feelings for her had nothing to do with her being unavailable. He loved her. He was in love with her. He slams his fist into the concrete wall in front of him in frustration. What good was realizing how he felt about her when he couldn't express those feelings? The pavement beneath him slowly starts to slip away as his vision blurs and he puts his arms against the wall to steady himself. He tries to take deep breaths, but each inhale is like a swift kick in the gut. He loves her, but he can't tell her. She hates him for trying to take away her happiness. The friendship they worked so hard to maintain over the years seemed to have dissipated, and there was nothing he could do about it. He slowly sinks to the floor, back to the wall as he tries to talk himself out of his panic attack. He could fix this, he thinks. He just needs to man up and tell her. Tell her that he's always wanted more, he's just been too afraid to risk their friendship and he was an idiot for that. He starts to catch his breath again as his head sinks into his palm and rests against his knees. Harvey Specter was the picture of a broken man, and he was the only one who could fix this. He had to try. He couldn't lose her, not again, not without a fight.

He pulls out his phone and dials until a familiar voice picks up on the other end.

"Missing me already?" he hears Mike answer

"Something like that" Harvey mumbles

"Everything okay? You sound, distracted" Mike says

"Actually no, it's Donna. She's been seeing someone and.."

"It's someone that's not you?" Mike finishes

"How did you know?"

"Just a gut feeling" Mike smiles into the phone

"Harvey, does Donna know how you feel?"

"I don't know" Harvey admits

"Ever think maybe you should tell her because she might feel the same way?"

"I can't now Mike, not when she's with someone else. Besides, she didn't feel anything when she kissed me, remember?"

"You really are lost without me, aren't you?" Mike chuckles

"What's so funny?"

"Harvey, did it ever occur to you that Donna said that to help you with the Paula situation?"

Harvey takes a minute and process's what Mike just said. It hadn't occurred to him that she might have lied; but he wished it would have, things could have been so different.

"That doesn't change the fact that she's with someone else" Harvey remembers

"My advice; tell Donna how you feel. You two want to be together, you'll find a way to make it happen"

"Thanks Mike" Harvey smiles

"Anytime, although next time I'm charging for my valuable time"

"Good to see your as arrogant as ever" Harvey yawns

"Good to see your old as ever" Mike says

"Say hi to Rachel"

"Goodluck with Donna"

Harvey drops the phone back into his pocket and stands up, dusting off his pants and heads inside, hoping to avoid another confrontation with Donna, and get out of there so he could head back to his apartment and drown his sorrows in scotch.

Her hands are shaking when she closes the door to the balcony and heads back to the party. She leans against the door and closes her eyes, trying to calm herself down before returning to the room of party goers. How dare he imply he wanted more now that she had moved on with someone else. She takes a deep breath in and smooths the edge of her dress with her still shaking palm. She drops her head into her hands in frustration, if she had really moved on, why were his words bothering her so much? Echoing through her head, playing over as she tries to pick them apart. He didn't mean it. This is what Harvey does, he's just afraid of losing her. He doesn't want more. He already has everything; and his everything didn't include a place for her.

She shouldn't have snapped at him so quickly she thinks, but then again, he deserved it for pouting about her new relationship. She waited 12, nearly 13 years for him, she couldn't wait around anymore, she wasn't getting any younger.

She takes a final deep breath and gathers her thoughts before heading to find Thomas. Screw Harvey and his random confessions, she wouldn't let it get to her this time. She spots Thomas talking to Louis by the bar and smiles as she slips in beside him, brushing her hand along his arm and sending him a small smile.

"There you are, everything alright?" Thomas asks

"Ya, everything's just fine" she manages, eyes wandering back towards the door leading to the balcony. She doesn't see him anywhere, she supposes must've gone home for the night. Her mind wanders back to their screaming match, the defeated look he wore and the sadness in his eyes. She's incredibly angry at his child like behaviour but that look he wore tears a small whole in her heart, she had always hated to see him hurt. To be the one hurting him, well, she didn't know how to fix this, or if they ever would.

"Donna" Thomas calls, snapping her out of her thoughts and back to reality

"Louis asked if you've seen Harvey lately?" Thomas finishes, repeating the unanswered question Louis had asked her

"Oh. No, I haven't, why?" she says

"I just need to ask him for a favour. You guys are usually inseparable at these events I just figured you'd seen him. I'll go make the rounds and see if I can find him" Louis adds, leaving Thomas and Donna alone at the bar.

"Are you sure you're alright? You seem rattled" Thomas observes

"I'm just a little tired" she lies, "Can we head home?"

"Sure, I'll go grab your coat" he says before heading towards coat check.

Donna gestures to the bar tender and orders a glass of scotch, some subconscious part of her doing so in a weird attempt to stay close to Harvey, she didn't even really like scotch. She downs the glass in one swift sip and places it back on the bar as she closes her eyes and exhales.

Across town and finally alone in his apartment Harvey pours himself a glass of scotch and mirrors Donna's motions at the bar. In one swift motion the amber liquid is gone, and he places the glass on the table as he exhales and closes his eyes. He needed her to know how he felt about her, but he couldn't tell her while she was still with Thomas, it wasn't right. With a second drink he decides, if he can't tell her, he'll show her how he feels. He leans back on the couch and closes his eyes, the world spinning around him as his eye lids start to sleep and he dozes off.

He opens his eyes to a tender knock at the door, looking around he realizes he must have passed out on the couch. He rubs the sleep from his eyes and slowly makes his way to the door, hoping it's her. He doesn't try to hide his disappointment when he opens it to find Louis on the other side. Louis doesn't wait to be invited in and briskly walks past Harvey and takes a seat at the table, pulling out a pile of papers and mumbling something about someone trying to take over one of his client's companies.

"Louis, slow down. Some of us have had a bit to drink" Harvey admits

"I need you to help me with this take over case. It's important to me Harvey"

"Why do you need my help?"

"Because the person coming after my client's company plays dirty and I need you to help me stay one step ahead of them. Please Harvey, this client means a lot to me"

"Alright Louis I'll help you, but we can start first thing tomorrow" he says, packing up the stack of papers Louis had taken out and walking Louis towards the door. He's about to shut the door and head to bed but pauses to ask one more question.

"Which client's company is it?"

"Thomas, Thomas Kessler"


	3. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was really fun for me because we don't usually get to see or experience what Harvey is thinking, especially when it comes to his feelings, so this chapter comes mostly from Harvey's perspective, as difficult as it was to write, it was tons of fun to come up with! As always I'd love to hear what you think!
> 
> I'm going to try and get the bulk of this up before the show comes back, but we'll see how long it takes to actually write it out!

Ch 3 – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Can't seem to hold you like I want to

So I can feel you in my arms

Nobody's gonna come and save you

We pulled too many false alarms

.

.

Harvey can not believe he agreed to help Louis help Thomas fucking Kessler keep his company. If Donna thought their relationship was strained before, how was she going to take the news that Harvey was helping with her boyfriends case. Panic starts to rise in his chest as he lay in bed, unable to get up and go meet Louis to discuss the details of the impending take over. What if she thought he was doing this to sabotage Thomas? Or worse, what if she thought he was doing it as an excuse to get close to her after their falling out.

His phone beeps and he reaches for it from the bedside table. He rolls his eyes once he reads the alert that had popped up and tosses the phone to the other side of the bed before heading to the shower. It was a reminder to book his flight for the firm retreat in two weeks. He wondered if she was bringing him. She probably was, why wouldn't she. If he wasn't a name partner there was no way in hell he'd be going to this thing, but his name was plastered on that wall just outside of the elevator, so he was stuck supporting Louis's attempts at firm bonding. He supposes it won't be too bad, but then again it wouldn't be too bad if he was on speaking terms with Donna and he wasn't worried about her boyfriend tagging along. On second thought, it was going to be brutal.

He let's the cold water run over his body as he places his forehead against a cool tile, not wanting to open his eyes and admit defeat to this already god-awful day. He didn't know what he was going to say to her when he saw her at the office after their blowout, but now he really didn't know what to do. He'd drunkingly, but not so stupidly promised himself that he was going to show her how he felt about her, but what if she hated him for getting involved in Thomas's case? What if she hated him after he couldn't tell her how he truly felt about her, again.

She accused him of playing a game and the harshness of her words and cruelness of the accusation stung more than the ice cold water Harvey splashed in his face. After all these years how could she not know how he felt about her? He contemplates where things had gone wrong during their time at the firm, and it starts to click that maybe Donna really doesn't know how he feels, maybe she really believes he's suddenly speaking up because she's spoken for. God, what a mess their relationship had become. Between the misleading I love you's and the lingering glances they just couldn't catch a break.

He should have told her how he loved her when she asked him all those years ago, but he didn't really know how he loved her back then. He was young and immature, he wasn't ready for a serious relationship. He shouldn't have snapped at her when she kissed him on her office, when it was really himself he was angry with, for kissing her back, and wanting to kiss her again. And against last night, he had the chance to tell her and he blew it. They had once agreed said that if they couldn't tell each other the hard truths, then what were they doing. Harvey takes a deep breath and shuts the water off. Thomas Kessler or not, he was going to show her the way he felt about her, whether she'd listen to him or not. He may have to break down a few walls to get her to forgive him and rekindle their friendship, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try.

He steps out of the shower and wraps himself in a towel, suddenly motivated to get this day over with. He grabs his phone and sends a message to his new secretary to book his plane ticket for the trip, then sends Louis a message letting him know he's available for the 9 o'clock meeting he requested.

An hour later Harvey strolls out of the elevator and into the lobby, coffee and bagel in hand. He passes Donna's office on the way to his own and notices her sitting at her desk typing away. He'd always admired her work ethic and his heart lurched with pride when he thinks about how far she had come to earn her position as one of the city's best COO's. She doesn't look up as he walks past, so he puts his head down until he reaches his office. He loved when she wore that blue dress. It hugged her in just the right places and always sent his mind back to the other time. Focus, Harvey, he reminds himself of the task on hand and grabs the files Louis left on his desk before making his way to conference room C.

He's taps lightly on her office door as he passes by again. The small falls from her face when she looks up and sees who's standing in the threshold of her office.

"What is it Harvey?" she asks coldly

"I just wanted to let you know that Louis asked me to help out on Thomas's case, but I can back out if you want"

"I know Thomas told me that they needed your help, after the party last night."

"Is that going to be a problem?" he asks

"Why would it be a problem?" she replies, turning back to the work on her desk she was flipping through before he interrupted.

Harvey cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow in response, "I just didn't know, given that things between us are….. complicated… lately"

"We're adults Harvey, I think we can manage to work together like adults" she remarks

"Okay, well in that case I have a meeting to get to" and he turns to head towards conference room C to meet Louis.

The meeting drags on and he's grateful for the coffee that's helping keep his eyes open. Louis goes on about their strategy and all the nitty gritty details of the case and Thomas' company. Harvey is just grateful Thomas isn't present, according to Louis he had to fly to his company's branch in Europe to tie up some loose ends in case the case went to trial. He understands why Louis asked for his help, though still slightly floored that Louis reached out at all, but the case seems manageable with the two of them working on it and he gathers that they'll have the matter resolved in a few weeks time. The meeting wraps up and Louis pauses before leaving the conference room to ask him a question.

"Harvey, did you see my email about booking your flight? Because two weeks will be here before we know it and we can't have a name partner not show up because he forgot to book his flight" Louis rambles

"It's been taken care of Louis" Harvey adds, passing Louis and heading down the hall back towards his office

"Great. Maybe while we're there you and I could go mudding?" Louis smiles a toothy grin

"Not a chance in hell" Harvey smiles with fake enthusiasm before shutting the door to his office and making his way to his desk.

The week nears an end and he still hasn't talked to her. Sure, they spoke a handful of times, but the conversations were strictly work related, hardly friendly, and he was starting to realize showing her how he feels was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He hasn't seen Thomas come by to pick her up this week and he knows from Louis that he was returning from his trip this upcoming weekend.

He packs up his things, putting a few folders and his laptop into his bag and gets ready to head home for the weekend. Instead of grabbing his coat he grabs two glasses and a bottle of scotch and heads for her office, not even bothering to check if she was still there, he knows she would be. It was time to break the ice, before he lost his mind. He couldn't stand not speaking to her, it physically hurt him when they fought.

She's sitting at her desk typing away when he knocks on the door and holds up the glasses with a shy smile.

"What's this?" she asks

"A peace offering?" he suggests, staying rooted in his spot in the doorway

She takes him in. Tie slightly too far to the left, collar slightly wrinkled, hair disheveled. He was a mess. The only time she'd ever seen him so off his game was when she went to go work for Louis. She's been upset since they fought the week prior, and Thomas was beginning to pick up on her distracted sadness. He'd asked her several times on the way home that night and had even clued in on the fact that her sudden mood change had something to do with the firm's name partner, questioning her about the relationship between her and Harvey for the first time ever on the phone the day before. She'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't miss him so without hesitation she invites him in.

"Come in" she smiles gently, moving to join him on the couch.

She sits on the opposite side of the couch and accepts the glass he offers her. In effort to keep things light she adds, "How are things with the case going?"

"Well actually, I think we may have found a way to allow Thomas to keep control of his company, and not have to go to trial"

"That's great Harvey, Louis must be thrilled"

"I imagine Thomas is too" he mumbles, "But you probably already knew that, the details came through this afternoon" he adds, flustered at his own reference to him.

"I didn't actually…"

"Donna look. About the other night, I just wanted to say…" he begins the apology he'd rehearsed in his head all week only to be interrupted by a knock on her office door. He turns around to see none other then Thomas Kessler, bouquet of flowers in hand. Perfect. Just perfect. He could not catch a break lately. Donna gets up and greats him with a kiss on the cheek and takes the flowers, bringing them to a vase on her desk.

"What are you doing here?" she smiles at Thomas

"My meeting ended early and I thought I'd surprise my girl" Thomas adds, flashing a million dollar smile at Donna as she rearranges the flowers. Harvey's stomach clenches at Thomas' referring to Donna as his girl. He had no right to be jealous, he knew that. He had his shot it and was in no way fair to her to decide he wanted this so many years after the fact. But he couldn't help himself. She was his other half and he was certain of it. The way his skin boiled as Thomas' hand lingered on her arm only reassured him.

"I wasn't interrupting something, was I?" Thomas adds, a hint of jealousy and warning in his tone

Thomas knew Harvey and Donna were close before he started dating her, and he'd heard the rumors about the name partner and COO being more than friends, but he trusted Donna and never asked her about her past relationship with Harvey. That is until this week. Her mood had been off since that party and he couldn't figure out why. He saw her head out onto the balcony before rejoining him and Louis at the bar, and he also saw Harvey leave the same balcony looking rather upset not long after she rejoined him. He hated to that guy, bringing up the past, but something was nagging at him telling him that with these two perhaps it wasn't the past he was bringing up. When he asked her if Harvey had anything to do with her sudden sadness and anger she said they'd had a small argument and she was just stressed at work, but the tension in this room and the two glasses of scotch told a different story. Thomas was starting to wonder if maybe their was more than what meets the eye when it came to how Harvey felt about Donna. His Donna.

"Not at all, I was just leaving actually" Harvey says, excusing himself and making his way towards the door

"We were just celebrating the exciting news. Looks like they have your case in the bag" Donna adds. She doesn't know why she feels like she needs to justify Harvey being in her office, but after Thomas's sudden acquisition of Harvey's responsibility for her uptight mood this week, she felt it was necessary.

"Looks like it" Thomas grins

"Hey babe, can you do me a favour and meet me at the car, I just want to talk to Harvey about a little case detail"

"Sure" she nods grabbing her coat and moving to pass Thomas and towards the door. As she walks past him he places a hand on her arm and stops her in her tracks, pressing his lips firmly against hers and then releasing her, returning his glare to Harvey.

Asshole, Harvey thinks. Parading Donna around him like she's some prize to be won. She deserved so much better then him. Donna bids him a goodnight as she passes and he turns to Thomas.

"What was it you wanted to ask?" Harvey prods, anxious to leave the office

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to make sure you understood that Donna is dating me"

"Okay?" Harvey stares back at Thomas, confused

"So, you can knock off whatever stunt you're trying to pull here. I've heard the rumors Specter, and I wanted to believe they were just that, rumors. But after watching the way you look at my girlfriend, I'm starting to think they're true. Do you think I don't see how you look at her? You'd have to be blind not to see it! Here's your warning, either back the hell off, or I'll make you back off" Thomas finishes and brushes past Harvey towards the elevator before Harvey has a chance to reply.

Next thing he knows his feet are carrying him down the hall towards the elevators.

"You know what asshole! She deserves a hell of a lot better than you!" he calls after Thomas

"What did you just say to me?" Thomas calls back

"You heard me" Harvey snips before being met with a sharp right hook to the eye that lands him on the face first on the floor. Thomas sets onto the elevator that has just arrived, leaving Harvey on the ground and calls out as the doors close, "Consider that your warning"

Harvey drags himself up and shakes his head, trying to regain his balance. He stumbles back to his office and grabs his stuff, ready to head home for the night. Instead of putting his coat on he plops down on the couch and pours himself a drink.

He begins to stir and wakes up to a small yelp.

"Jesus Harvey, you scared me half to death. What are you doing here?" Donna asks

"I must've fallen asleep" he recalls, pulling himself up and taking in the familiar surroundings of his office

"What are you doing here?" he asks

"Louis asked me to print out the trip itinerary for next week and put them on everyone's desks before Monday" she gestures to the stack of papers she's holding

"Oh, so you're being forced to go to that too?" he says, trying to act casual

"I am" she smiles back

"Oh my god Harvey! What happened to your eye?" she says noticing the black eye he's sporting

"Oh, it's from boxing, there was a little bit of an accident"

"Does it hurt? It looks new? You didn't have that yesterday?" she says sitting next to him on the couch and examining it

"I'm okay" he answers "I promise" he adds when the look she sends him tells him she isn't convinced

He can smell her perfume she's sitting so close and for a moment he wishes he could tuck the loose strand of hair behind her ear and run his fingers along her porcelain arms. He forces himself to focus.

"Do you, ugh, need a hand with those?" he asks, motioning to the stack of forms he's holding

"Actually yes, you can help me put the packages together. Meet me in the copy room in 10?"

"Sure"

He gets up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. He should have told her what happened with Thomas, but he doesn't want her to think he provoked Thomas or tried to ruin her shot at happiness, so he keeps his mouth shut. He slides his shoes on and heads to make a coffee before going to meet her. The office is quiet, since most employees did not come in on Saturday mornings. Maybe that was exactly what he needed to apologize to her, a quiet Saturday morning at the firm.


	4. I'm Your Man

Ch 4 – I'm Your Man

I've been running through these promises to you

That I made and I could not keep

Ah, but a man never got a woman back

Not by begging on his knees

Or I'd crawl to you baby and I'd fall at your feet

And I'd howl at your beauty like a dog in heat

And I'd claw at your heart, and I'd tear at your sheet

I'd say please

I'm your man

She hears the door open as she smacks her hand against the side of the copier, willing it to work. A broken, uncooperative photocopier was the last thing she needed today. She was surprised to find Harvey asleep in his office this morning, but she supposes any company will serve as a welcome distraction. The unnecessary paper work was hardly enough to keep her mind occupied, but Louis was unable to come up with more work for her on such short notice. She was grateful he had been able to give her any work at all when she called and asked him late the night before. She was even more grateful that he didn't ask questions or press any further on why she suddenly wanted to come in and work all weekend. She wasn't ready to share the reason just yet; her mind hadn't fully processed it.

"Hey" he mumbles coming up behind her

"Who's winning?" he smirks, looking between her and the copier she's hitting

As if on cue, the copier begins to work, and she flashes him a victorious smile, "I'd say I won this round" she adds

"How can I help?"

"You can staple those" she points to the stack of papers next to her spot at the photocopier. He pauses for a moment before nodding and rounding the machine to stand beside her. He begins to staple the papers, their close proximity not going unnoticed be either of them. They work in silence for a while, the room being filled with noise from the machine as they work. The machine groans and spits out papers, and the stapler clicks. Donna clips groups of papers together and Harvey puts them into folders. It's nearly systematic. They don't need to speak to communicate, working through the motions rigorously as time drones on with mere clicks and crinkles of paper. His arm brushes against hers as he reaches for his next stack of papers and she blushes and looks away. This was ridiculous, she said it herself; they were adults, they might as well start acting like adults, he thinks.

She leaves her spot next to him and crosses the room to grab more folders when he finally finds the strength to break the silence.

"Donna" he begins, causing her to look up

"What are we doing?" he questions

'We're making copies" she quips back

"You know what I mean" he replies, managing to keep a straight face as he tilts his head in a way he reserves for her.

"I don't know what you want me to say Harvey…" she says as if she's already exhausted from the conversation they have yet to have.

"Then just listen" he says, drawing in a deep breath

"I'm sorry for the other night"

"You're sorry?!" she interjects, making it clear that a simply sorry was not going to fix this

"Let me finish"

She studies his face and relents, shrinking back against the wall with her arms folding across her chest as he continues.

"I didn't mean to let your relationship come between our friendship, and I'm sorry that I did. I know it's not fair and I have no right to say I want more now, when I should have said something the moment I knew I wanted it."

He pauses to study her face after his implied confession of wanting more with her. If she's picked up on what he said, her face shows no sign of it as she continues to stare at him wide-eyed, willing him to go on.

"I truly wanted you to be happy, want you to be happy" he corrects himself

"And if he makes you happy, then that's the only thing that matters. I need you in my life Donna. I've been lost without you, you're my best friend, and truth be told I have no idea how I'm going to handle an entire week of Louis' firm bonding without you"

His comment about Louis' retreat makes her smirk and he relaxes a bit. She knows he's glossed over the details of their argument, and that they haven't addressed the real reason they keep having this argument, but she missed him too, and today of all days, she needed a friend. She decides to pretend not to notice his vague statement about wanting more and put this past them. This was what they did, they pushed their feelings aside and glossed over the uncomfortable details in fear of unmasking the truth they contained.

"Truce?" she smiles at him shyly

"Truce" he grins back

"Good because I'm in desperate need of some lunch" she says

"Want me to call and order from that shitty Thai place you like so much?"

"I think you better!"

He's about to head back to his office when he hears her call his name

"Harvey? I'm sorry too you know. For …everything"

As vague as her apology is, they both know she had nothing to apologize for. There was no rule against her moving on with her life, so she geared her apology towards their screaming match and the way she reacted to his words out on that balcony. But the way she said everything loaded her statement and leaves him wondering what she meant by it.

"I know" he smiles before turning down the hall and heading to his office.

Donna puts the folders Harvey had prepared together in a neat pile and closes her eyes. This was not at all what she thought today would be like, but she was glad this was the way it was turning out. She'd made the right decision coming into the office, it was a perfect distraction from her situation.

"I would pay a million dollars to see you go mudding with Louis!" she jokes, pointing to the itinerary for the upcoming weeks trip.

"Ready to put your money where our mouth is?" he jokes

"Hmm on second thought, I like my money right where it is. Doesn't mean I wouldn't pay to see that"

"Over my dead body" Harvey remarks

The pair find themselves sprawled out on the floor of Harvey's office eating out Thai food out of cartons. The afternoon had slipped by rather quickly and they found themselves catching up on what they'd missed in the other's life over the past few weeks. Donna's father had found another potential investment project (that Harvey reluctantly agreed to look over) and Harvey was working on a new case for a high-profile baseball player, which he was rather excited about.

He couldn't help but notice how easily to conversation flowed between them, never running out of things to talk about and making one another laugh. God, he missed her laugh. He's grateful she doesn't bring up Thomas, but he can't help but wonder what he would think about them spending the afternoon together. Of course, it was an innocent lunch between two friends, Harvey wouldn't dare let himself make a move while she was seeing someone else, but Thomas didn't seem thrilled about Harvey spending time with Donna the other night. He knows better than to ask, but his gut tells him Thomas wouldn't approve of Donna's friendship with him and he finds his mind wandering to what would happen if Thomas ever gave Donna an ultimatum. He quickly pushes the thoughts aside, not wanting to imagine a world without her.

"Harvey?" Donna's voice snaps him back to reality, "You okay?"

"Sorry I guess I just got lost in thought" he admits

"About?" she teases

"How to get out of this trip" he lies, convincingly enough that he thinks she buys it. Of course she can read him better than anyone and knows there's something else on his mind, but she decides not to push him.

"It won't be that bad, besides you're stuck with me" she teases

"Poor me" he flirts back and immediately scolds himself for flirting with her. He promised himself he would show her how he felt about her without falling into one of their old habits, and flirting was something they'd always done. Screw it, he decides, he was going after what he wanted. And what he wanted was everything. With Donna.

He picks up one of the itinerary's from the pile they copied and skims down the list, nearly spitting out his egg roll as he reads "Firm Spa Day"

"Firm spa day?! This is a joke right? The last thing I need is to see Louis in a robe, or worse, a towel!" he exclaims which causes Donna to giggle at the disgusted look on his face.

He continues reading, skimming over the variety of firm bonding exercises and events Louis had planned out. Some seemed tolerable, there was a few staff dinners and workshops but he was already thinking of excuses to get out of some of the more ridiculous tasks like staff spa day and staff water aerobics.

"How are we supposed to fit all this stuff in four days?"

"Not much of a vacation" she chimes in

"I say we both conveniently come down with something on day 2 so we can spend the day doing nothing" he proposes

"Harvey Specter toying with the idea of an actual vacation, I never thought I'd see the day" she smirks

"One day wouldn't hurt. But you have to join me" he flirts

"I do?" she raises an eyebrow mockingly

"How will you enjoy a vacation if I'm there?" she adds

"Everything's better when you're there" he smiles, causing her to cheeks to redden and her to look away.

The sound of her phone startles them both as she scrambles to her feet to find it. He follows her lead and wanders over to his desk as she puts the phone back down and smiles over at him.

"I should get going" she shrugs

"You should, you probably have a date to get ready for" he smiles slightly managing to keep the statement light-hearted and genuine, trying his best not to grimace at his slight mention of Thomas. He falls silent after his comment, not really knowing what to say next. They managed to go the entire afternoon without Thomas coming up, why did he have to go and bring him up now.

Donna also falls silent at Harvey's comment, but quickly recovers and sends him a sweet smile.

"Goodnight Harvey"

And with that she sashays out of his office and down the hall.

He works for the rest of the evening and heads home once the sun goes down. Once home he loosens his tie and pours himself a glass of scotch before settling down in bed with his laptop. His phone blinks on the table where he placed it next to his bed and he flips it over to find to find two missed messages. The first one is from Louis, telling him the deal with Kessler's company went through. A wave of relief washes over him, knowing he won't have to interact with Thomas any more than necessary in the future. At first, he thought he knew what Donna saw in him, he was a well put together man who was easy on the eyes, but after getting to know the guy he was starting to wonder. From what he gathered Thomas Kessler was a jealous, over-possessive, manipulative asshole, but he supposes his blackened eye may cause him to have a biased opinion.

The second message is from Donna, thanking for him his help today and telling her she had a great time with him. He feels his pulse pick up as he opens her message and relaxes into a smile as he finishes reading. Maybe this retreat won't be as bad as he thought, now that he could spend it with her.

They were supposed to leave for Utah on Monday, which meant he had three days to get his shit together and figure out how to win her over. Today was a big step, and he was thrilled they'd manage to rekindle their friendship. For majority of the afternoon it seemed normal again. They were Harvey and Donna. Managing partner and COO. The flirty banter and the he said, she said dynamic they shared was one many couples strive for, yet it came easily to them. He would just have to use their "normal" relationship to show her how much she means to him, to show her what he finally knew had been true for years; to have everything was worth risking everything.

Meanwhile, when Donna finally makes it home she shuts the door behind her and sinks against it. What the hell was she going to do…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear what you guys think! Chapter 5 will kick start the firm retreat :)


	5. Fate Don't Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's burn the pages
> 
> We'll start anew
> 
> Right through the ages, to prove
> 
> Fate don't know you like I do

Ch 5 – Fate Don't Know You

 

This is the final boring call for flight S29, please make your way to gate C

The intercom announces as Harvey makes his was to the gate mentioned. He opted to take the last possible flight to Utah, in order to spend most of the day getting work done from home. He hadn't heard from Donna since their afternoon lunch at the office and she was probably already lounging by the pool somewhere, Kessler in tow.

He wasn't a fan of Louis opening the retreat to significant others to attend, though he understands it was a reason to justify bringing a very pregnant Shelia along. Sure, they still had "staff only" things scheduled, but the last thing he needed was Thomas watching his every move when he was around Donna. Now that he thinks of it, he doesn't recall her ever mentioning bringing Thomas, and he never thought to ask if she was. Sure, she joked around about blowing off the day full of staff events to hangout with him, but they were just joking around, like they always did. She must be bringing Thomas, he can't imagine she wouldn't be.

She downs the rest of her coffee and tosses it in the trash before making her way to the gate her flight was boarding from. She was already exhausted from all the hours she'd put in at work this weekend and she was looking forward to a lonesome flight to gather her thoughts and hopefully help get her life back in order. Though she was glad she decided to keep busy this weekend, her mind kept wandering back to it. She was a grown woman, she wasn't supposed to be in a situation like this, yet here she found herself.

Rachel was the only person she'd told, and she was hoping to keep it that way, at least for a few weeks while she figured out what she was going to do, god she felt nauseous. The message she'd received in Harvey's office, cutting their lunch short was from Rachel, telling her if she needed a friend, she'd be on the first flight out, but she declined the offer and decided the firm trip was a good distraction.

She decides she just won't allow herself to think about it while on this trip, starting right now. And with that she adjusts her purse over her shoulder and joins the line to board the plane.

He exhales dramatically as he enters the line at the gate when he spots a head of red curls two people in front of him. He excuses himself and the man between them steps aside allowing him to tap her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me ma'am, you're going to have to bag check that thing" he says with a voice deeper than his own

"I'll have you know this bag cost more than…" she pauses, whirling around to see him standing behind her and playfully smacking him with the purse, "You jerk!" she laughs

"Costs more than what? Now I'm curious" he smirks

"You should know, you bought it" she tosses a grin in his direction and readjusts the bag on her shoulder

"What are you doing here?" he questions

"Going on this retreat, the same thing you're doing here"

Harvey rolls his eyes ever so slightly, even though her flirty tone has him in an immediate good mood.

"I guess I thought you'd be there by now, poolside, drink in hand"

"I had a few things to take care of at the office. Who knew an entire firm up and taking a vacation was a HORRIBLE idea"

"I did" he grins the trademark Cheshire cat grin

She rolls her eyes and playfully shoves into his arm

"Where are you sitting?" he gestures towards her ticket as they move up in line

"Next to you" she winks, turning to hand her boarding pass to the flight attendant. His cheeks flush with red and he tries to tell himself to get it together, (she has a boyfriend for god's sake he reminds himself) as he passes his boarding pass along and begins to follow her through the tunnel towards the plane. He loses sight of her while he's directed to his seat and puts his briefcase in the overhead bin before making his way to his window seat in aisle 12. He surprised to find her in his reserved seat, grinning up at him, legs crossed in heels far to high to be worn on a plane, fitted red dress that he knows will be on his mind for days to come.

"What…"

"Am I doing here? I told you I'm sitting next to you"

"But how did you.."

"Know where you were sitting? I'm Donna" she smiles, "Plus that nice young man over there" she gestures to a kid who's about 20 and ogling her, "switched with me"

"Ah, of course he did" Harvey smirks

"What's that supposed to mean" she challenges

"Nothing, nothing. Just that if I was a 20 year old male and a woman who looked like you asked me to jump out of the plane I would do it" he concedes

"A woman that looks like me?" she picks at the highlight in his statement

"Yes, someone that beautiful can cause a lot of trouble" he compliments

She blushes at his compliment. In all the years she'd known Harvey, he'd given her millions of compliments; even compliments on how she looked, but he had never flat out called her beautiful before. At least not to her face.

"Are you saying you wouldn't do it if I asked you now?" she prods

"Pretty sure I paid extra for that window seat" he points to the open window in attempt to change the subject. The sun was beginning to set, causing a reddish glow to cast upon her face, illuminating each individual freckle as he looks her over. She smiles sweetly up at him when she catches his eyes and he humbly slides into the seat next to her, embarrassed she caught his lingering stare. They sit silently for a few moments, settling into their seats; Well, Donna settling into Harvey's seat, and Harvey into some kid who couldn't help but say yes to Donna's seat. Poor thing, he had fallen victim to her charm one to many times himself, he knew how hard it was to say no to those big brown eyes. He's been so caught off guard by her presence on the flight that he almost didn't realize, Thomas wasn't with her. He tries to rack his brain and remember if Louis mentioned Thomas having to work during the retreat back when they worked on his case, but he draws a blank. Maybe he should just man up and ask her, but the last time he hinted at her personal life she shut him out and he blamed himself for cutting their afternoon together short.

pHe's still lost in thought when they're told to prepare for takeoff, and it isn't until they're in the air that he remembers Thomas' company was opening a new branch in Europe this week; as part of the deal he negotiated for them with Louis. He supposes there's no need to ask why he wasn't present if he already knew the answer.

She reaches for a bag of pretzels from her bag and offers him some, snapping him back to reality and away from his thoughts.

"So, I never asked you, why are you on such a late flight?" she asks

"Avoiding all chances of seeing Louis in a speedo" he remarks, managing to keep a straight face filled with slight horror; aware that though he's joking, Louis may actually own a speedo.

His statement causes her to giggle and her hand, which once held the pretzel bag out to him lingers over his arm that's rested on a shared arm rest. It's only a slight graze of her fingers across his forearm, but her touch is electric, his skin tingling where her fingers ghosted over it.

"Actually, I had some work to get caught up on since we're being forced to take a few days off" he adds

"It might be nice to take a break, you've been working so hard lately" she reassures and yawns at the end of her statement, the work of the weekend finally catching up to her.

"You have too" he observes, "even weekends"

"Ya, well, the distraction was nice this weekend" she mumbles before turning her attention towards the clouds

Her words are dripping with ambiguity and he's tempted to ask what she wanted to be distracted from but holds back in fear of overstepping. He watches as the stewardess begins to make the rounds, offering people drinks and turns his attention back to Donna.

"Want to play a little game?" he grins

"What kind of game?" she asks

"An odds game. If you can guess someone's drink order before they order it, I owe you a drink, but if you guess it wrong, you owe me a drink" he explains

"Are you really doubting my ability to read people?" she says in mock offence

"Just putting that little gift of yours to the test"

"Alright, that guy right there, in the sneakers and jogging pants" Harvey points to the man seated a few rows behind them.

"Ginger ale" she says without missing a beat

"There's no way you can tell by looking at the guy for 2 sec…." Harvey pauses when the stewardess hands the gentlemen a ginger ale.

"You were saying?" she says cockily

"Easy there tiger, you got lucky. Let's see if you can guess that women's, in the gray pant suit"

"Martini, dry….. with a twist" she says after studying the women for a moment

A few moments later they overhear the women order exactly what Donna had predicted. The stewardess makes her way to them now and asks what they'll have. She orders two scotch's, neat, and waits for Harvey to hand the women his credit card, a victorious grin washing over her face. He can't help but chuckle at how happy his childish game managed to make her and as the women leaves to grab their drinks, he turns to her and gesturing towards Donna says, "This women right here, a force to be wrecking with" which sends them both into a giggle fit.

After polishing off the drinks Donna begins to yawn again and leans her head against the window as she begins to drift off. Somewhere between her falling asleep and the plane landing she has switched from resting her head against the window to resting her head against Harvey's shoulder and he had also dozed off. He woke first, taking a moment before he realized where he was and peering down at Donna fast asleep nestled into his side causes him to smile. She looks so peaceful and he hates to wake her, but the plane is beginning it's decent and he has no choice. She wakes up slowly and blushes when she realizes she's cuddled into Harvey's side, mumbling something of an apology as she sits upright and fastens her seat belt.

They make it to the resort in good time and Harvey unloads their bags from the taxi before meeting up with Donna again at the check in desk. It's late and he supposes their colleagues have already retired for the night, so he offers to help with her bag before returning to his own room. He grabs his key from the concierge, and they begin on their way to her room. They make it to 206, ironic he thinks to himself, and he places his bag down before checking his key to see which room is his. Fate must be looking out for him because his key reads 207.

"Looks like were neighbours" he says, waving the key in the air and moving to open his door

"Goodnight Harvey" she calls after him, opening her door and pulling her suitcase in after her. She was beyond excited to had to bed and they had a fairly relaxing day scheduled for tomorrow which meant she might even get to sleep in a little bit.

"Goodnight" he responds, shutting the door to his room and looking around. The room is a decent size and comfortable looking and he drops his bag on the bed and goes to find the washroom to wash his hands. It surprises him to see that the washroom is rather large, containing two sinks and both a shower and a bathtub. He's drying his hands when he hears a swift "oh my god" only to look up and find Donna in her night gown in front of him.

"What are you doing in my bathroom?" he asks, confused

"I was about to ask you the same thing" she responds, gaze moving to the door behind him, before turning back towards the door she entered through. He follows her gaze and it starts to make more sense, the rooms must have a joint washroom.

"This must be a mistake, I'll call and get it sorted out" he reassures, turning back towards his room and pulling out his phone to dial the front desk. Once he hangs up with the front desk, he isn't sure whether or not he should go back through the washroom to her room or go around, so decides to go around and knock.

She answers in the same silky nightgown she entered the bathroom in, and it takes most of his willpower to keep his eyes locked on hers.

"Front desk said this is what was booked" he says, irritated

"I called Louis and he said all the rooms were like that, and it was part of the bounding experience" Harvey rolls his eyes

"Who is Louis sharing with?" she asks to lighten the mood, knowing there is likely no way out of this

"Katrina, poor soul" Harvey smiles. Damn it, she always knew how to turn his mood around. A few minutes ago, he was ready to knock Louis out and now here he was grinning like an idiot.

"Look Donna, if it's going to be a problem I'll go down to the front desk and request a new room first thing tomorrow"

"It's alright Harvey, we're adults. I think we can figure out how to take turns and share a washroom"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. Unless you start taking longer than me to do your hair, then we might have a problem" she laughs "Besides the doors lock from the inside, it's not like we'll be walking in on each other" Great. That was a visual he needed. He hadn't even thought of that.

"Alright, well, I'm going to bed, but I'll see you at breakfast" she smiles before he wishes her a goodnight and she shuts the door behind her. She wanders into bed and pulls the covers up around her, closing her eyes and exhaling.

Harvey makes his way back to his room and begins to get ready for bed, unpacking a few things and flipping off the lights before sliding into the bed. He can't believe Louis would go as far as shared washrooms to promote firm bonding, but then again, he can totally believe it. If fate was toying with him, it was doing one hell of a job, but the cards appeared to be on his side and Harvey didn't lose; some time away from the office, Donna being on his flight, their random room assignments and Thomas Kessler was no where in site, this was his opportunity to show her what she meant to him. He was by no means trying to interfere with her relationship, however he has to show her what she means to him before it was too late. If this cruel trick of fate was presenting him the opportunity to finally tell her how he felt, he was going to go for it. He decided she had a right to know, she deserved to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I'd love to hear what you guys think! :)


	6. Mine Would Be You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey guys! I want to thank you all for your kind words about the story so far, the comments really do mean a lot to me! Enjoy Ch 6 which is the first part of the firm retreat, and as always I would love to hear your thoughts! xx
> 
> (I'm going to post part 2 before the show comes back, just in case Aaron finally decides to give us what we've been waiting for - here's hoping)

Ch 6 – Mine Would Be You

What's your all time high, your good as it gets?

Your hands down best ever make-up sex?

What's your guilty pleasure, your old go to?

Well, if you ask me, mine would be you

"Good morning" Louis greets with a toothy smile as Donna joins him along with Shelia, Katrina and Samantha at their breakfast table.

"How was your flight?" he adds

"It was good" she smiles as a sleepy Harvey stumbles into the restaurant and grabs the last seat available at their table, opting to sit with them over the table consisting of Brian, Alex and his wife and Robert.

"No Thomas this weekend?" Samantha asks Donna while Harvey reaches for the coffee pot opposite him, pouring himself a glass and immediately beginning to drink it in attempt to keep busy while Donna answers the question regarding Thomas' whereabouts.

"Oh, um, I guess not" Donna mumbles, focusing an unnecessary amount of energy on the toast in front of her. Louis knew Thomas was scheduled to be in Europe for the week, but she supposes Samantha asking was a fair question, so why was it so hard to answer? And why was she avoiding looking towards Harvey while she did? Her brain hurt and suddenly she wishes she'd taken Rachel up on her offer for some girl time. She tells herself to pull it together and she manages to plaster a smile on her face as she returns to her breakfast.

"How was your flight, Harvey?" Katrina asks

"It was actually pretty good, some much unexpected time to catch up on some stuff I've really missed" he smiles, looking up and catching Donna's eye before she breaks his stare and returns to her breakfast, a small smile working it's way across her face.

"And you guys found your rooms okay?" Louis asks

"Ya, the adjoint bathroom was quite a…. surprise" Harvey adds with an eye roll

"I figured you two would be okay with sharing" Louis comments. For such a smart man, he'd clearly missed the shift in the dynamic between Donna and Harvey once Donna started dating Thomas. Though most people at the office noticed the name partner and COO spent noticeably less time together since her new relationship began, Louis remained oblivious.

The group finishes up breakfast and head to conference room A where they are having their first firm bonding activity. The spouses and loved ones excuse themselves, headed to enjoy the amenities around the resort while the employees of ZSLWW reluctantly head to "bond"

The bonding exercise Louis had planned for the day involved guessing your partners answers to a series of questions. Harvey had been paired with Samantha, much to his own protest, but the pair had done well when it came to predicting what the other would answer; likely the result of their equally competitive attitudes and their similar views on how to take what you wanted. Donna was paired with Katrina and the girls seemed to have a good time, giggling here and there about their answers. The events of the morning weren't near as dreadful as Harvey thought they were going to be, but he was glad to be headed to the pool, towel in hand by the late afternoon.

He hadn't spent much time with Donna since their flight in the previous day, so when he spots her lounging in a pool chair, he plops himself down beside her. She doesn't notice him at first, sunglasses on under a large floppy hat, wearing a navy one piece that he has to try his hardest not to focus on, nose buried in a book, but looks up when he clears his throat and smiles.

"Harvey Specter, poolside, I never thought I'd see the day" she smirks

"Someone has to still be able to surprise the mighty Donna Paulsen" he winks before beginning to apply sunscreen to his arms

He's about to ask her what she's reading when Louis calls out to him from the pool, asking him to join in on a volleyball game. He's about to decline, as he would much rather spend the afternoon laying in the sun next to her, when she slides her sunglasses down her nose and asks

"Well, aren't you going to go play?"

"I don't really play volleyball"

"Hmm that's too bad, I was looking forward to seeing you and Louis crush those guys" she gestures towards two young muscular men across the pool who are batting a volleyball back and forth. Next thing he knows, he's in the pool playing two-on-two with Louis, all in some desperate attempt to impress her. He's too focused on the game to notice, but Donna hasn't been able to take her eyes off him since the game started. She's trying to be subtle, hidden behind her sunglasses and hat, but apparently her gaze following his muscular arms as he serves the ball was not as subtle as she hoped.

"He's in surprisingly good shape, don't you think?" Samantha wanders over and takes a seat next to Donna, head gesturing towards Harvey in the pool

"Oh, I didn't really notice" Donna blushes, embarrassed to be caught staring

Samantha raises her eyebrow, questioning Donna

"Was it that obvious?" she mumbles

"Honey, it's been that obvious to everyone except for him as long as I've known you two" Samantha answers

Donna looks towards the pool where Harvey and Louis are high-fiving about scoring a point and she can't help but smile. The Harvey from a year ago wouldn't be caught dead at one of these events, let alone be playing water sports with Louis. He had changed a lot in the past year, grown up and matured, putting matters of the firm before his own, going to therapy regularly, speaking to his mother. Harvey was becoming a changed man and part of her wondered if that meant maybe he was more in touch with his feelings now than he had been in the past. He was the one to tell her he loved her and then wasn't able to tell her how. He was the one who said they'd already had everything, that he didn't want more. Then, why was it, that watching the man in front of her, the man she'd known for the better part of a decade, she suddenly curious as to whether or not he'd also become more in touch with his feelings. It was a thought that had been nagging at her for weeks. It was likely the cause of her off behaviour Thomas had observed the week prior. Something was telling her she needed to find out, and she wasn't sure why.

"What?" Samantha questions, snapping Donna out of her thoughts

"It's nothing, just…" What did she really have to lose by telling Samantha, Rachel already knew and it's not like telling her was going to change anything.

"Can you keep a secret?" Donna asks her

"As well as any lawyer can, spill" Samantha grins, as Donna leans over and whispers in her ear

***  
Harvey climbs out of the pool after a long game and heads over to his chair to grab his towel and dry off when he finds Samantha and Donna sitting on her lounger, giggling over some fruity drinks.

"What's so funny?" he asks

"Nothing" they say together

"Well I'm going to go and get ready for dinner" Samantha says excusing herself, "I'll see you two later"

And with that she's off and it's just the two of them left at the pool, everyone having scattered throughout the afternoon and beginning to get ready for the evening.

"So, did you guys win?" Donna flirts, pretending she hadn't watched the entire game

"Do I ever lose?" he flirts back, causing her to roll her eyes and laugh

She begins packing up her stuff so she can get ready for dinner when she catches him eyeing her

"What?" she asks, turning to face him

"How did you manage to spend all day by the pool without getting wet?" he asks

"That is a skill" she grins

"Oh really? Is it hard to obtain?" he smirks devilishly, stepping closer to her as the words leave his lips so that they are almost whispered in her ear. Before she has a chance to reply his arms snake around her waist and he's holding her above the pool while she screams at him to put her down, flailing as much as she can but having no luck in him releasing his grip. With one final yelp he tosses her into the pool and can't help himself from laughing at the angry face she's sporting as she wades towards the pools edge. Her makeup has smudged down her face and her perfectly curled hair was now a matted mess, but he can't think of a time when she'd ever looked more beautiful. She doesn't say anything to him, doesn't yell or curse, only stands before him at the edge of the pool and extends her hand for him to help her up. He knows exactly what she plans on doing the minute he takes her hand, but he sticks his hand out to grasp hers anyways, before being pulled into the pool and under the water. When he comes up for air, she's starring at him with a wide grin on her face and splashing him she calls

"You jerk! You ruined my hair!"

"Well you ruined mine, so I guess that makes us even" he calls back as he splashes her

The splashing and giggling continues as they swim towards the ladder, each grabbing onto one side once they reach it. He pauses before they go to climb out of the pool, his eyes momentarily locking on hers as he reaches to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He wonders if she can hear how fast his pulse is racing as he studies her face. She doesn't turn away from his gaze, but rather she looks intrigued. He's leaning in slightly, closing the distance between them when he suddenly remembers he can't do this. She's taken, and he would never let himself knowingly be that man. He clears his throat, breaking the moment and allowing her to climb out of the pool before him.

They walk back to their rooms in silence, neither really knowing what to say. He's confused. If she was with Thomas, then why was she going to let him kiss her? Maybe she was just caught up in the moment too? They part ways at the door and he's the first to break the silence.

"Look Donna I'm sorry about what happened back there, in the pool" he mumbles

"Don't worry about it, Harvey, let's just forget it ever happened" She says, shutting her door to go get ready for dinner.

An hour later he's dressed in a navy suit with a white collared shirt, but no tie, this was vacation after all. He knocks on the bathroom door to see if she's done yet so he can comb his hair before meeting the others at the bar. She opens it in a stunning, slim fitted red dress, with a slit his eyes follow up her leg from her platinum heels to her mid thigh. The dress is strapless and low cut, showing off her body in all the right places. She has her hair down in lose curls and is wearing a red lipstick that matches her dress. He's speechless for a moment, taking her all in before he manages to find some words.

"You look beautiful" he breathes, the use of the term beautiful sending a chill down her spine

"You don't clean up so badly yourself" she smiles

"No tie, bold choice"

"I was feeling bold tonight" he grins as he reaches for his comb and moves his hair into place

"Ready?" she calls from the door

"I'll meet you in the hall" he calls back

The pair make their way to dinner arm in arm, both seeming to forget about their moment from earlier and telling jokes about the firm event that morning the entire elevator ride to the lobby. When they stroll into the restaurant to find their co-workers, Donna has her arm loosely laced through Harvey's and they're laughing about that god-awful dinner party from years prior.

Katrina turns to Samantha after spotting the pair walk in and whispers "If I didn't know any better, I'd say those two were the best-looking couple in the room"

Samantha turns to spot Harvey pulling out Donna's chair and chuckles to herself, "You have no idea"

Dinner is fun and light-hearted. Everyone shares the details of their day and little talk of cases and merging is done, much to everyone's relief. Harvey finds himself seated between Donna and Louis and can't hep but smirk at the sarcastic comments she periodically whispers to him. He's been doing his best to move past the incident from this afternoon, but he can't seem to drop it. Why did it seem like she wanted him to kiss her? Was she testing him? He needed to focus on anything else, so he focused on showing her what she meant to him. He'd told her how beautiful she looked, pulled out her chair at dinner, and was going to continue to be the perfect gentlemen on this trip, she deserved at least that.

After dinner the group made their way to the bar across the hall, where Harvey found himself headed to retrieve two glasses of scotch from the bar, one for him and one for Donna. As Harvey made his way to the bar, Samantha questioned her friend,

"Have you told him yet?"

"Not yet?"

"What are you waiting for?"

"The right time" she confesses

"Donna, there will never be a right time for this. You've just got to rip the band aid off. It'll be okay" Samantha smiled sweetly, pacing a reassuring hand on Donna's arm.

Harvey returns, drinks in hand and slides into the seat next to Donna's.

"What'd I miss?" he smiles

"I was just telling Donna about the tall dark and handsome man over there that I was going to ask to dance"

"I thought you were seeing someone back in the city?" Harvey asks Samantha

"I'm not one for settling down" Samantha replies

"Why's that?" he questions

"I could ask you the same question" she challenges

"I'm one for settling down, I just haven't found the right women yet" Harvey mumbles

"You will" Samantha says sliding out of her seat and making her way across the bar to the dance floor.

Donna watches with slight envy as her friend taps the man on the shoulder and proceeds to lead him to the dance floor. She loved to dance and watching her coworkers have such a good time on the dancing only made her realize how badly she wanted what most of them had in this moment. Harvey follows her gaze to the dance floor, watching her eyes light up as the music changes to a jazzy swing tune. Wanting nothing more then to make her happy, he gets up and holds a hand out to her, and with the swift raise of an eyebrow asks, "Shall we?"

She looks at him unsure before taking his hand and following him onto the dance floor, where he begins to twirl her around playfully to the music before pulling her flush against his chest. Her hands wrap themselves around his neck and he finds a place for his on her waist as he sways them to the music. He twirls her around so her back is to him and works his hands down her sides, breath hovering over her left ear before twirling her away from him once again. The playfulness of the dance has them both grinning like idiots, and when he pulls her back in, he rests his nose against hers. She bats her eyelashes up at him as the song comes to an end and they pull apart to applaud the band.

A few drinks later and they find themselves headed to the elevator towards their rooms, ready to call it a night. They're telling stories and reminiscing about the good old days as the elevator climbs to their floor and they walk arm in arm down the hall until they reach her door.

She goes to open her door and quickly turns to catch him before he walks away

"Did you mean what you told Samantha, in the bar?" she asks bluntly, "About wanting to settle down with someone?"

He stares at the scuff mark on his shoe, sure that if he looks at her, he'll break. He'll tell her not only does he want to settle down, but he wants to settle down with her. That he wants everything with her. That he was an idiot for not seeing it before, because all those years all he's ever wanted was to settle down and grow old with her. He wanted a lifetime. As badly as he wants to look up into her hazel eyes and tell her all of those things, he knows he can't. It wouldn't be right to do that to her, not while she was happy with Thomas. So, he gathers his thoughts and draws in a deep breath before turning his gaze upwards and meeting her eyes.

"I did" he whispers

He didn't realize how close they were standing but he suddenly becomes very aware of the closeness. He can smell her vanilla perfume and see the outline of every freckle on her face.

"Oh" she whispers back

"Oh" he nods back, neither making a move to turn away, but neither knowing what to say next

Donna's phone beeps in her bag and Harvey finally breaks their stare, turning towards his room.

"Well, good night Donna" he calls to her, "I had a nice time tonight, who knew a vacation was exactly what I needed"

She looks up at where he's shut his door and whispers to herself, "Good night Harvey"

He's been pacing back and forth in front of the bathroom door for 10 minutes. Why did she ask him if he meant it when he said he was ready to settle down? And was he imagining it, or did they have more than one moment today? My god, did she ever look beautiful tonight. He was an idiot for waiting so long to make a move. It was his own fault that Thomas Kessler swooped in when he did, he had years to make a move and what did he do, nothing! Every time there was ever an opportunity for him to speak up or do something, he backed down. If there was one thing he'd learned after his recent therapy sessions it was that despite never backing down in the courtroom, he was a master at backing down when it came to things that meant a lot to him; like Donna.

He wanted this, her. Ugh, but he couldn't do that to her, not after he lost his mind on her when she kissed him while he was dating Paula. He couldn't be so hypocritical. He made her promise to never do something like that again, so why was he pacing trying to get his mind off of wanting to kiss her. What if fate was telling him that they were meant to be together? What if this was his opportunity?

He swings the door open to have Donna smack into his chest, not anticipating the door opening from his side, evidently having a similar idea of her own.

"What are you…" he lets his thought trail off, realizing he's still holding on to her. He steps back from her, releasing her from his arms and glances at her. Much like him, she hasn't changed out of her outfit for the evening, and she's staring at him with a wild look in her eye.

"Why?" she questions

"Why?" he repeats, confused

"Why now? Why are you suddenly ready now?" she cries

"Donna, I don't know what you want me to say here"

"How about starting with telling me how you really feel!? Or can you still not do that?!" she challenges

"Donna…"

"No, you don't get to 'Donna' me, not this time. Call me crazy but there was a moment back there, and not just the moment in the pool, but afterwards where I thought…"

He brings his hands to her face and cups her cheeks in a slow, calming way that causes her to forget what she was saying.

"There was a moment" he reassures her, before dropping his hand from her face

"I can't do this, not here, not like this" he sighs

"I knew it was too good to be true! You're the same coward that you were when you told me you loved me years ago! You're still afraid to take risks" she yells, turning to storm back into her room.

"I'm not too afraid to take risks! " He calls, following her into the bathroom and touching her arm, causes her to spin and face him

"Then prove it!" she challenges

He moves his left hand to her cheek almost instinctively, drawing her in for a kiss to prove his point. She closes her eyes, anticipating what's to come when she feels his hand fall from her face once again and a sudden void in front of her. She opens her eyes to see he's stepped back from her and shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Donna. I can't do this. Not like this, not when you're with him" he sighs and turns, returning to his room and leaving her standing their, alone with tears streaming down her face.


	7. Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the spirit of the Suits coming back to our screens this week, enjoy Ch 7 - named conveniently after the most fitting Darvey song

Ch 7 – Waves

But there, is a light

In the dark, and I feel its warmth

In my hands, and my heart

Why can't I hold on?

It comes and goes in waves

It always does

She tries her best to pull herself together as she stands there alone in the bathroom, facing herself in the mirror. She wipes the tears from her cheeks and thinks back to how they could have possibly ended up here. She should have told him sooner, maybe they wouldn't be in this position if she had, but it was too late now, and she could only think of one way to fix it. She had to tell him to truth.

She closes her eyes and exhales, thinking back to that day that Thomas came to pick her up from work and found her having drinks in her office with Harvey.

"What did you have to tell Harvey?" she asks as he joins her in the car

"Oh, just some last-minute details for the deal" Thomas brushes off and reaches over to place a chaste kiss on her cheek

"You two seemed cozy" he adds, referring to the situation he walked in on in her office

"Just celebratory drinks with a friend, nothing out of the ordinary" she replies, looking out the window at the city lights they moved through. It's silent for most of the ride and she almost misses it when he mumbles a comment to himself.

"Hmm. Friends" he hums

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asks as they pull up to the curb outside of her apartment and she steps out of the car

"Oh, common Donna. I've seen the way the man looks at you, and you except me to believe you don't see it too" he exclaims, rounding the car to stand opposite her on the side walk

"I… um…" No, she hadn't noticed. Did Harvey really look at her that way? He told her he didn't want more, surely Thomas was mistaken.

"Look Donna, I've heard the rumors and I've never asked you before because I trust you. So, I need you to be honest with me when I ask you, have you and Harvey ever been romantically involved?"

She studies his face, his muscles twitching with tension and anticipation as he waits for her to answer. She contemplates lying but figures there's no point, he's already picked up on her bitter mood and pin pointed that Harvey was in some way responsible, what was the harm in telling him about the past.

"Yes"

"It was once, 13 years ago" she adds quickly, as if to downplay the extremely complicated relationship her and Harvey have shared over the past decade.

"And nothing has happened since then?" he questions

She falls silent and stares down at her shoes. One of the things she admired most about Thomas was his confidence. She knew he must have heard the rumors and she appreciated that Thomas never asked her about her relationship with Harvey. He never questioned the closeness, much like her past boyfriends had and she thought maybe she'd finally found a man who was mature enough to look past her friendship with her former boss.

"No" she mumbles to the ground, lying through her teeth

"Answer me this then, do you have feelings for him?"

She can't look up because she knows one look at her will tell him what he already knows, she has and always will have feelings for Harvey.

"That's what I thought" Thomas answers his own question at her refusal to even look at him

"Then I think I only have one thing left to say here, if you want this thing between us to work, you can't be friends with him anymore"

"What are you saying?" she looks up and finally takes in the man in front of her; the put together, handsome business man who had become a frustrated mess, clearly at war with his emotions towards her relationship with Harvey.

"I'm saying you need to pick, me or him"

She knocks on his door three times before giving up when no one answers. She panics, trying to rack her brain and think of where he might have gone.

She spots him sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of scotch, head in his hand. She walks up behind him and he lifts his head, somehow knowing she's there; a weird ability they both seemed to have.

"We broke up" she states

He turns and looks at her confused.

"Harvey, did you hear me?" she tries

"When?" he asks coldly

"Last week, after we had drinks in my office" she admits

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it would matter. You said you didn't want more!" she exclaims

"So, you let me beat myself up over crossing the line with you, when you haven't even been with him this entire time?!" he yells back

"I didn't know you were doing that! How was I supposed to know it was bothered you when every time a conversation about US gets the slightest bit real, you panic and shut me out!" she calls

"You're the one who said you didn't feel anything when you kissed me!" he yells, rising from his seat so he's at eye level with her

"I lied Harvey! Obviously, I felt something. I felt everything" she admits

He pauses at her admission. He'd never considered that she could have lied about the kiss. Their yelling is drawing attention to them, as other people at the bar are staring at the pair that is still dressed to the nines and screaming at each other.

She's heated now, angry at him for making her feel like the bad guy, when he's the one who still has yet to tell her how he feels. She once again laid down her cards, telling him she felt everything when she kissed him and here he was standing right in front of her, not saying anything in return.

"What a shock! You have nothing to say! Surprise, surprise, Harvey Specter shutting me out when things are starting to get real! Screw you Harvey! Sorry I put myself out there, sorry I'm willing to risk everything and apparently it's for nothing!" she exclaims and storms out of the bar into the lobby

He follows after her and grabs her arm just before she reaches the elevator and twirls her around to face him.

"Donna, wait…"

"What Harvey!" she snaps, a tear slipping out of her eye and rolling down her cheek. He hates to see her hurt like this, and he hates even more that he is the one who hurt her. He wishes she'd told him about her breaking up with Thomas. He could have been there for her, comforted her as a friend. He could have made a move sooner and showed her exactly what she's meant to him all these years. He knows he better speak up now and lay it all on the line before he loses her forever.

She pulls her arm out of his grasp and raises her eyes to meet his.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she whispers back

"Because you were with him and it wasn't my place to"

"I wasn't with Thomas for months after that happened! Why now?! Are you just saying this because I was unavailable?" she says, tears still falling, as she tries her hardest to still her shaking hands

"I'm not saying it because of Thomas, I'm saying it because it may have taken me years to figure it out, but I finally figured it out" he exhales

"Figured what out?" she dares to ask

"THAT I LOVE YOU DONNA!" he yells, drawing the attention of the nearby visitors moving through the lobby, and including the attention of Louis, Shelia and Samantha who happened to be making there way through the lobby from the bar after their night of fun.

"What's that all about?" Louis turns towards his peers

"I'd say that's been 13 years in the making" Samantha smirks as the group turns their attention back to their screaming friends.

"Love me how?" she squeaks out, barely above a whisper

"You know how" he answers, stepping closer to her and sliding his hand down her forearm until their fingers are interlocked

"No, I don't!" she cries, pulling away once again and turning back on her path towards the elevator

"Donna" he calls after her

"Why now? I need to know. What took you so long to say something?" she turns back and calls at him

"Because we worked together. And I was your boss. And I couldn't lose you. I can't lose you" he mumbles, unable to get his thoughts in line and his words out clearly, he knows he's rambling and not telling her what she wants or needs to hear, but he can't formulate a proper thought his pulse is racing so fast.

She turns and storms toward the elevator, feed up with this never-ending cycle. They clearly weren't getting anywhere, and this loop was just breaking her heart.

"Donna, wait just listen to me"

"Why?! Because you were my boss and I have too?" she spits, his comment clearly hurting her more than he meant it to

"Donna"

"You've made it pretty clear that our working relationship comes first, so what is it Harvey, what could you possibly have left to say to me?" she sighs in defeat

"I love you"

"How many times do we have to go down this road?" she sighs as he steps towards her, once again closing the gap between them

"I'm in love with you"

"You're just afraid to lose me"

"I am. But that's not why I love you. I love you because you're incredibly hard working, you're the first and last one at the office, and you're the first person I want to tell when I win a case. And you use that stupid multi-coloured pen. You're the only person who isn't afraid to call me out on my bullshit. You're always the most beautiful women in the room, but you don't even know it. And you are the only person I want to spend the rest of my life arguing with" he smiles, using his finger to lift her chin so her tear-filled eyes meet his.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out. And that it took me so long to be ready, but I am now. I want it all Donna. I want more. I want everything"

She smiles up at him timidly at first, smile growing as he reaches to wipe the tears from her eyes, "You're in love with me?" she whispers

"Hopelessly" he whispers back before pulling her in for a long-awaited kiss. It's eager, both of them desperate to deepen the kiss as her hands wind there way around his neck and he loops his through her hair.

"Well it's about damn time!" Samantha calls out at the pair, causes them to break apart and blush, suddenly both very aware of their public display. The elevator dings and Harvey takes Donna's hand and pulls her inside, the door shutting behind them. Before she has a chance to say anything, he has her pressed against the elevator wall, tongue seeking its way past her lower lip. They're so caught up in each other they barely notice the elevator ding, indicating they're on their floor. Harvey scoops Donna up and carries her out of the elevator, causing her to giggle as he places a trail of kisses down her neck while walking her towards his room.

Once inside he presses her against the closed door and begins kissing her when she puts a hand on his chest and pulls back.

"Harvey wait" she whispers

"What is this? What are we doing here?"

He smiles and takes her hand, leading her to the edge of the bed where he takes a seat and motions for her to join him.

"I meant what I said Donna, I want everything, with you" he grins, causing her to cheeks to momentarily turn the colour of her hair

"Everything" she repeats

"Yes. Now if my girlfriend doesn't mind, I would really like to kiss her again" he says hopefully

She can't hide the smile that illuminates her face when he refers to her as his girlfriend and she leans in for a kiss.

Harvey wakes up to a steady stream of sunlight pouring in from the window on the opposite side of the room. He has half a mind to get up and close the blind but he can't bring himself to leave the bed, not with her in his arms. He looks down at her, legs tangled between his, red hair sprawled across the pillow. How did he get so lucky? He can't believe the surprising turn of events of the night before, but he couldn't be happier with how things worked out. The events of the past few days made more sense to him now, she really did want him to kiss her in the pool because she was no longer with Kessler. As bitter as he was the night before about her failing to tell him about her relationship ending, holding her in his arms now, he can't help but forgive her. Maybe she was just as afraid as he was, because if he was being honest, her telling him about her break up would have made the reality of him needing to tell her how he felt come a lot sooner, and perhaps it wouldn't have worked out the way it did.

She begins to stir in his arms before her eyes flutter open and he places a gentle 'good morning' kiss on her forehead.

"Last night was…"

"Ya" he agrees, knowing she means long overdue, incredible and the best part of this trip.

He begins to twirl a strand of her hair between his fingers, losing himself in thought. He knows he should focus on the beautiful women lying next to him, but there's still one question that's been nagging at him since he woke up, why did Donna and Thomas break up?

"What's on your mind mister?" she notices his daydreaming

He debates telling her, not wanting to make things awkward or uncomfortable, and decides if they're going to do this, and really do this, he needed to be honest with her.

"Why did you and Thomas break up?"

He expects her to get upset at his prying into her past personal life but instead she looks up at him and grins.

"He asked me to choose, between you and him, and I…. I choose you"

He reaches down and kisses her, not expecting that to be the reason, but also thrilled Thomas didn't do anything to hurt her.

"I promised myself I would put myself first from now on" she continues,

"I've been choosing you for the past 13 years. But when he gave me the ultimatum, something was telling me to choose you, just one last time, to have faith in you. And god am I glad I did" she grins into another kiss.

"Thank you, for having faith in me" he whispers

"Thank you for being worth having faith in" she whispers back as they resume kissing.

A phone starts ringing, as if on que, and annoyed he turns and answers it with a harsh 'what'

"Where are you?" Louis calls out from the other end

"You missed breakfast and we have a bonding event starting in 25 minutes! As a name partner I expect you to be there"

"Ya ya Louis I'll be there" Harvey mumbles back

"Oh, and Harvey, can you tell Donna I expect her to be there as well, seeing as you answered her cell phone" Louis adds before hanging up

Harvey puts the phone down on the table and lays back with a dramatic sigh, while Donna can't help but laugh at the conversation she just overheard.

"I guess we better get downstairs" she says

"I guess so" he pouts, "But what do you say I take you to dinner tonight?"

"Like on a date?" she grins

"Well that's what people who are dating do, isn't it?" he flirts

"It's a date" she grins, sliding out of the bed and heading towards the bathroom that leads to her room.

She pauses at the door and looks back at him, "What are we going to tell people?"

"Based on that phone call, and the unfortunate timing of our little fight in the lobby, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume they've already figured it out. I say we tell them the truth?"

"The truth it is" she asks

"Sounds good" he walks over to her to steal another peck before sliding past her into the bathroom

"What are you doing?" she questions as he turns on the shower

"Getting ready, care to join me?" he raises an eyebrow

"Who knew this shared bathroom thing would work out so well?" she smirks

"What is today's 'bonding' activity anyway?" he asks, sliding out of his shorts and into the shower.

"Water sports" she laughs, joining him in the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow burn but I hope it was worth the wait! I'd love to hear your thoughts on chapter 7!
> 
> Stay tuned for some more firm retreat fun, and some fluffy Darvey stuff, because who doesn't love a little Darvey fluff xx


	8. Long Time Running

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were nearing the end of this one and this chapter is nice and fluffy with a side of firm group dynamics, so please enjoy chapter 8 and feel free to leave a review :)

Chapter 8 - Long Time Running

We don't go anywhere  
Just on trips  
We haven't seen a thing  
We still don't know where it is  
It's a safe mistake

It's been a long time running

The elevator dings indicating it's reached the lobby and he grins down at her as he locks his fingers between hers.

"Ready for this?" he asks, not quite sure he's ready to leave the little bubble they've found themselves in the past 24 hours. In a way, he's grateful they didn't have to decide whether or not they wanted to keep their relationship a secret from their co-workers, but in this moment, he wishes he could have her all to himself for the rest of the trip.

"I've been ready for the past 10 years" she jokes, squeezing his palm to reassure him she can handle this.

She's always been unnerved by the rumors surrounding the two of them at the firm, aware that they often called her ability to do her job into question, but between the reassuring words from Samantha yesterday, and the uncharacteristic calmness Harvey is radiating as they step off the elevator, she suddenly can't be bothered to care what anyone thinks.

She goes to drop his hand as they enter the buffet to meet their coworkers (who are finishing up the breakfast the pair missed due to their prolonged shower), a force of habit, as she spent years trying to act natural towards Harvey around her peers, but he only grips her hand tighter. He sends her a small knowing smile and mouths, 'It's okay' as they walk over to where the employees of ZSLWW are sitting.

He notices most members of the group are doing their best not to pay attention to the pair as they approach the table, with the exception of Louis who's eyes haven't been averted from where Harvey's fingers were intertwined with Donna's. Donna had filled him in that she had told Samantha previously that she was no longer with Thomas, so he assumed Samantha told the others after they got caught in the cross fires of his and Donna's screaming match the night before.

Donna follows Louis' gaze and decides to have a little bit of fun with him to ease some of the tension flooding the table. Just as Harvey pulls out her chair, a true gentlemen's action which sends a flurry of butterflies through her core, she smiles over at him and places a chaste kiss on his cheek before taking a seat. She can't help but giggle as she watches Louis' eyes nearly bulge out of his head. Harvey takes a seat next to her and realizing what she's done begins to chuckle.

Louis looks from Donna to Harvey and can't help but ask, "So are you two like, official now?"

"Louis" Shelia scolds

"What? You said not to bring up Thomas, you never said I couldn't ask if they were together" he states bluntly, the rest of the table groaning, clearly having decided what would be considered acceptable to ask once the pair joined them.

"Oh, what the hell, he already opened the can of the worms. So this is…?" Samantha raises an eyebrow and waves her finger between the pair sitting across from her

"Yes" Harvey answers, placing a hand on Donna's thigh beneath the table and sending her a sweet smile

"Well it's about damn time" Gretchen calls from the other end of the table

"Someone better tell that damn kid he won the pool" Robert sighs

"Hold on. You guys were placing bets on our relationship?" Harvey exclaims

"Not exactly…" Samantha admits

"We were betting on how long it would take you to get your head out of your ass and tell her you were in love with her" she adds, causing Donna to smirk at Harvey's sudden embarrassment

He wants to make a comment about Donna being unavailable, and almost as out of touch with her feelings as he had been, but refrains, knowing he should just take the fall for this one. He swallows his snappy remark, only to realize what Robert had slipped into the conversation.

"Wait a second! You're telling me Mike won the bet?! He doesn't even work here anymore!"

"That kid's been rooting for you two since the day I met him" Gretchen responds

"Damn puppy, always involved even when he isn't around" Donna laughs

The topic of Harvey and Donna's new relationship is dropped rather quickly when Louis starts talking about the events for the day. He had a 'team bonding' water balloon extravaganza planned as the final task before everyone was allowed to relax and enjoy the last day at the resort. Everyone begins to excuse themselves from breakfast, heading to get ready to meet by the pool, leaving Donna at the table with Louis, and Harvey headed to the elevator with Samantha.

Louis eyes Donna as she sips her coffee, pretending not to notice.

"What is it Louis?" she asks without turning to face him

"Don't take this the wrong way Donna, because I'm happy for you two, I truly am. But, what happened with Thomas? You seemed so happy?"

She smiles gently and turns toward Louis, placing a reassuring hand on his forearm, knowing her friend merely means well and isn't trying to pry.

"I was happy" she answers

"Then what?"

"Happened?" she finishes

"As happy as Thomas made me, he wasn't Harvey" she admits

"So, Thomas didn't hurt you? Because I swear to God, I'll drop him as a client first thing tomorrow" Louis rambles

"That won't be necessary Louis. We talked about it and Thomas is okay with you representing him still, granted that Harvey doesn't get involved in any cases involving his firm" she adds

"How could he possibly know you'd end up with Harvey?"

"I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss. He asked me to choose between him and Harvey. And before you say anything, he wasn't asking me to choose between our relationship and my working relationship with Harvey. He could see what took me a long time to see, something I had been pretending didn't exist for years"

"So, you choose Harvey?"

"I did" she smiles, getting up from the table so she can also begin to get ready for the day's events

"Donna?" Louis calls

"Yes Louis?"

"After all these years, what made you choose Harvey? I thought you were through putting him before yourself? What was different this time?"

"I guess I just had faith that maybe he was finally ready"

"Someone told me once that they couldn't stand the thought of the love of their life marrying someone else. That they would live with the regret of not telling them how they felt for the rest of their life. I guess I just didn't want to regret not taking the chance" she adds

"I'm glad he was finally ready" Louis smiles

"Me too Louis" she adds as the pair make their way out of the restaurant and she playfully loops her arm through his.

"And if he hurts you Donna, I'm not above kicking his ass" Louis remarks with a straight face, causing Donna to chuckle

"I'll keep that in mind" she smiles.

Harvey leans against the elevator wall as the door begins to close. Before it can shut Samantha manages to squeeze through it. So much for a peaceful elevator ride, he thinks.

She doesn't say anything to him, just stands opposite to him, grinning. He fiddles with his fingers before getting overly frustrated and sticking his hands in his pant pockets.

"You knew" he remarks, glancing over at her

"She told me yesterday morning"

"Glad you finally put on your big boy pants and told her how you felt" Samantha adds. "Happy looks good on you"

"You've seen me happy before" he challenges as the elevator beeps indicating it had reached Samantha's floor

"Not like that" she calls over her shoulder as she makes her way down the hall

He smiles to himself as the doors close once again, she had a point, he'd never felt so happy in his life. He knew he wanted their first official date to be special, and he had a perfect idea, he was just going to need to pull a few strings to get it together in time for tonight.

He was hoping he'd run into her when he headed back to his room to change into his swim trunks, he knew she also had to change, but needing to set his plan for their date in motion he couldn't wait around and headed to the lobby once he was ready.

The group had convinced Louis that team water sports were not a good idea, so instead of bonding over the roar of a motor boat and the fear of jet skiing, the ZSLWW staff found themselves gathered by the pool in front of two large buckets filled with water balloons. Harvey was the last to join the group, hurrying towards them from the lobby as Louis called at him to 'move it'

He joins the group and stands next to Donna, studying the emerald one piece she was wearing, with a matching sun hat and large black shades. He leans over and places his lips slightly above her ear, causing her to shiver at the contact. He whispers,

"You look incredible"

Which causes Donna's cheeks to turn a deep shade of pink. Louis, who is trying to explain the exercise can't help but notice Harvey's whispering and calls out, "Harvey you can flirt with your girlfriend later" without realizing the implications of his comment. As the words leave his mouth, he realizes that although yesterday the comment would have been taken by the pair as a joke, today his words bore meaning. He stutters, trying to recover, clearly flustered at calling Donna Harvey's girlfriend when he wasn't sure they'd even had that conversation.

Harvey, as much as he loves watching Louis panic, pipes up

"Sorry Louis, didn't mean to interrupt, just telling my girlfriend how beautiful she looks" he says, winking at Donna

"Oh god. Is this what were all in for now?" Samantha mockingly rolls her eyes before throwing a small supportive nod towards Donna, acknowledging that she can't believe how sweet Harvey Specter is being towards her.

"If you're done hitting on Red, I'd like to get this over with so we can get out of here" Gretchen says

"Alright so as I was saying, were going to split into two teams…" Louis drones on.

Donna and Harvey end up on opposite teams (surprise surprise) and after one round of Louis' game of transporting balloons between team members without breaking them, the staff had had enough and the game had turned into a full on water balloon fight.

Harvey ducks behind a pool lounger to escape a balloon from Katrina, only to run into Donna doing the same thing.

"Fancy meeting you here" he smiles

"I'd say" she flirts, following his eyes to the water balloon she's holding in her hand

"Now Ms Paulsen, what do you plan on doing with that"

"If I said I was thinking of wrecking your perfectly groomed hair, would you hold it against me?"

"If I could hold you against me" he remarks, Cheshire cat grin worming its way across his face

"You're an idiot" she smirks

"An idiot who wants to pick you up at 7 for our date"

"7 it is" she smiles, butterflies piling up in her stomach at his mention of their first official date. The fact he planned it all on his own was the cherry on top of an already perfect day and she can't wait to see what he's come up with.

He grins back at her, pulling her in for a kiss, still in their hiding spot crouched behind the pool chair. As her lips meet his he feels a sudden burst before water begins to run down his forehead from his hair.

"Oh, it's on now!" he calls, getting up to chase after her as she fleas towards the pool

He catches up to her easily, wrapping his arms around her waist and tossing her in the pool, once again, only this time, he jumps in after her.

"I think I won" he teases as they tread water across from one another.

"And I'm not talking about the water balloon fight" he adds as he wads towards her, her arms finding a place around his neck

"Anyone ever tell you you're a smooth talker?" she laughs, letting her fingers run through his damp hair

"Once or twice" he grins and pulls her in for another kiss, or two

The rest of the water balloon fight had subsided and the other members of the firm were drying off around the pool, watching as Harvey throws Donna in the pool and then jumps in after her, sending them both into a giggle fit.

"Well I'll be damned, I never thought I'd see the day where that one gave in to being in love" Gretchen says, referring to Harvey

"I think it's sweet" Katrina comments

"Who gets to tell the kid he won?" Samantha asks

"I'll do it, this has been in the running before several firm name changes and me and Mike were there for nearly all of it" Louis says, pulling out his phone to snap a picture of Harvey and Donna goofing around in the pool. As if on cue, Harvey pulls Donna in for a kiss and Louis captures the moment.

"The kids gonna have a field day with that one" he laughs and hits send.

Once they get out of the pool, most of their co-workers had dispersed. Louis and Shelia were laying beside the pool and he spotted Samantha at the bar in the lobby as he hands Donna her towel and reaches for his. She excuses herself to go get ready for their date. She grabs her bag and before walking away she places her hand on his forearm and her eyes meet his.

"I'm looking forward to tonight" she smiles, before placing a kiss on his cheek and heading to her room to get ready.

Harvey grins to himself and flops down on the pool chair, reaching for his phone as he lay in the sun to dry off. He's surprised to find he has 12 missed texts from Mike. He opens them, confused, to find a bunch of single word messages

ITS

ABOUT

DAMN

TIME

He finally reaches to the top and sees the picture Mike has attached of him and Donna in the pool. The rest of the messages suddenly making a lot more sense. He opens the picture and can't help but smile. It was about damn time. He scrolls through the rest of the messages

WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME

WHEN DID YOU FINALLY MAN UP AND TELL HER YOU LOVE HER

WAIT, WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT THOMAS GUY?

OH WHO CARES, SO HAPPY FOR YOU GUYS

CAN YOU NAME YOUR FIRST BORN AFTER ME?

Harvey rolls his eyes before typing back,

Miss you too. Say hi to Rachel. Maybe we'll plan a trip up to Seattle.

It was about damn time.

Donna's phone starts buzzing in her bag as she makes her way through the lobby. She rummages through her bag before finding it to see it's an incoming call from Rachel.

"Hey Rach"

"Hey yourself"

"How've you been?"

"Not as good as you!"

"What do you mean?" Donna asks, confused

"How's Thomas" Rachel tries

"Who told you?" Donna laughs

"Louis told Mike, who is as thrilled as a kid on Christmas by the way. I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Thanks Rach!"

"So… Are you gonna tell me what happened?" Rachel pries

"Depends, how much time do you have?" Donna jokes

"For this story, I've got all night" Rachel laughs

"Alright, I'll tell you while I get ready for my date"

"A date?! With Harvey Specter"

"He planned it himself"

"You're calling me back right after this date I want all the details!"

"All the details?" Donna emphasizes the all

"Oh god, okay maybe not all. But first things first, start at the beginning…."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! The final chapter is coming your way soon! Also be sure to keep an eye out for a new story I'm starting called 'The Night We Met"


	9. All of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I finally got around to finishing the last chapter & I hope it was worth the wait! I ended up trying to make this one a bit more playful and fun. Your encouraging comments have meant so much to me and I appreciate every single one! Thanks for inspiring me to keep writing - and be sure to check out my new story :)

Ch 9 – All of Me

All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning

At five to seven, there's a knock on her door. She smiles and laughs to herself as she finishes the final curl in her hair and makes her way to the door. Harvey was never punctual, yet here he was right on time, the effort he was putting into this date was already surpassing her expectations. She'd decided on a white summer dress and a pair of strappy wedge heels, unsure of what he had planned.

Her call with Rachel had only heightened her excitement for the date and had helped to eliminate some of the nervousness she'd felt earlier in the day. Rachel had reassured her there was nothing to be nervous about because she'd never met two people more perfect for each other. Donna couldn't help but notice how ironic it was that everyone always commented on how perfect her and Harvey were for each other. Not ironic in the typical sense, she supposed. She just thinks that they were right for each other because they were both far from perfect. They complimented each other and their imperfections is what drew them to one another. She takes a breath before opening the door, this was it, there was no going back now.

The door swings open to reveal that Cheshire cat grin she loved so much, hovering above 12 roses as he leaned against the door frame wearing a navy suit, white dress shirt, but no tie; her favourite look.

"Hey" he smiles down at her, towering over her without her heels.

"Hey back" she grins

"You look beautiful" he compliments, causing her cheeks to redden as he hands her the flowers he's holding and leans down to place a kiss on her cheek.

"We're really doing this" she breaths, not being able to help thinking out loud after the sudden rush of emotion overcoming her

"I think it's about time, don't you?"

She's overcome by his sudden confidence. When did Harvey Specter become so in touch with his feelings? She'd noticed it began when he made up with his mom, and she had to admit that yes, it was about time they were both in the same place at the same time.

"It was about time" she agrees as he pulls her in for a kiss

"We should get going, were going to be late" he says as he pulls away

"Where are you taking me anyways?" she questions as she slips on her heels

"It's a surprise" he grins, happy she hadn't figure it out, she was Donna after all.

He leads her down the hall towards the lobby, the hand finding the small of her back as they reach the elevator. He knows it took him far to long to come to terms with his feelings for her, so he plans on making this night one to remember.

"Harveyyyy" she whines

"Just a few more steps" he reassures her, leading her forward.

He told her to put a blindfold on when they got in the car and after some convincing, she gave in and put it on. It felt like they'd been driving around for hours as she tried to get as much information out of him about their destination as possible. She was tempted to peak a few times, but his adamance towards keeping the destination a secret was sweet. He continued to guide her forwards and next thing she knew, she was having a hard time keeping her heels from sinking.

"Are we standing in sand?!" she calls out, and he ignores her, focusing on the destination they've almost reached. She knew they were outside by the light breeze tickling her legs and the smell of the fresh air, but Harvey hated the beach, claiming the sand was dirty, so the sudden softness at her feet surprised her.

Next thing she knows, he's guiding her into a chair, the ground no longer soft and slipping.

"Okay, you can take the blindfold off"

It's off within seconds, as she's desperate and excited to see where he's taken her. A moonlight walk on the beach maybe? Some sort of play in a park? One thing she's certain of, she loves the fact that after 13 years, this man can still surprise her.

She takes in her surroundings and for a moment, she's at a loss for words until her eyes fall on Harvey, seated across from her, grin stretching from ear to ear.

"You did all of this?" she asks, unable to hide the shock in her voice

It's beautiful. They're seated at a small candlelit table in the middle of a gazebo that's draped in white lights. If she looks past where Harvey is seated, she can see the ocean, the water eerily calm as the sun begins to set and the sky is illuminated a soft pink, swathed with tinges of orange.

"Louis may have helped a little bit" he admits

"This is beautiful Harvey, you didn't have to" she adds

"Yes. I did." He concludes as she sends him a questioning look with the tilt of her head

"I wanted to show you that I meant what I said the other night Donna. I want this, us, everything. And I wanted to show you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it took me so long to figure it out. Hell, I'm sorry it took me so long to find the words to tell you. But I need you to know, it's you. It's always been you."

The tears are pooling now, threatening to escape as she wipes at her eyes and stifles a nervous chuckle, reaching for his hand over the table.

"Harvey, you don't have to apologize"

"I know I don't have to. I want to" he smiles

"I'm sorry too you know. I wasn't exactly ready to admit what I felt for you and I pushed you away just the same"

"So, what do you say we try this again? Start over"

"Hmm, starting over sounds nice" she grins

"Well in that case, I'm …" he goes to say his name and shake her hand, mocking the night they met. Donna, being Donna cuts him off

"Harvey Specter, do you really think I'd be talking to you if I didn't know who you were" she smirks

He rolls his eyes at her playfulness, god he was a goner. He knew right then and there; Donna Paulsen would be the death of him.

"That really was my lucky day I guess" he says, running his thumb across her palm and tracing gentle circles

"Why's that?"

"Meeting you, it changed my life Donna. I know I've said it before, but I don't want to ever see what my life would've been like without you in it"

"Let's hope you never have to find out" she smiles, squeezing his hand

"So, as beautiful as this is, is there food, because I am starving"

"Hold your horses" he laughs, getting up and grabbing two brown take out bags that had been placed beside the table

He starts to empty the contents out onto the table when she gets a glimpse at one of the bags.

"Harvey! How could you possibly get that delivered out here?" she directs her stare towards the Del Posto stamp on the side of the bag.

"You're not the only one with connections Paulsen, I am Harvey Specter after all" he beams

"You're an idiot" she laughs

"At least now I'm your idiot" he winks, sliding back into his seat

"You're so lame. You're lucky I love you"

"Right now, I'm pretty sure I'm the luckiest man in the world"

She blushes down at her plate. It may have taken them 13 years to get here, but god was she glad they'd finally made it. Thomas was a wonderful man, but no one ever came close to making her feel as safe and loved and special as Harvey did.

They continue to eat, talking about what they were going to do about their new relationship status once they returned to work, and decided it was best to just be open about it. Donna did manage to sneak in a rule about no PDA at the office, much to Harvey's dismay, but the rest was agreed upon rather quickly. Harvey also proposed the idea of a weekend trip to see Mike and Rachel, which Donna immediately agreed to. The firm just wasn't the same without them around. As the sun slipped behind the horizon and the stars began to shine overhead, Donna couldn't help but ask what she'd been wondering for hours.

"Was there no take out place within driving distance that would have sufficed?"

"Nope" he grins

"You like the chicken that much?" she smirks at his eye roll, obviously knowing that's not why he went through all the trouble of getting food delivered from New York.

"This" he gestures around to the lights and the beach and the candles

"Is not 'us'. I mean, I loved doing it, and I'm not saying grand romantic gestures are out of the question. It's just, not what we do. We listen to my dad's old records and sit on the floor of my office drinking scotch. And we do pre-trial rituals with can openers. We spend the morning picking out a perfect Hermes bag for you and I pretend I hate it, but I don't. We spend work anniversary's at Del Posto, and order from that shitty Thai place on long nights at the office. As excited as I am for this new chapter of 'us', I don't want to forget the last one. As painful and long as it's been, it's what makes us, us. And it's what made me realize that I love you"

"I love you too" she smiles, getting up and slipping her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss that tells him she feels everything he just said.

The next morning they meet the other's in the lobby with their bags, both exhausted from a long night and excited to be headed back to the city.

Harvey heads to the front desk to return both of their room keys as Samantha makes her way over to Donna who is typing away on her phone and barely notices the blonde standing next to her until Samantha clears her throat.

"Quite a novel your typing there" she states

"Oh ya, just filling Rachel in on some… things" she blushes, as Katrina joins the two women

"What were you guys talking about?" she smiles

"Donna was just about to tell us how her date went" Samantha smirks

"It was, really nice actually" Donna admits "Harvey planned the entire evening and it was perfect"

"I'm so happy for you guys" Katrina chimes

"So, are you going to tell us if it was worth the wait?" Samantha winks

"I just told you, the date was amazing" Donna states, pretending to be oblivious to Samantha's actual question

"You know what I mean Donna. You guys have worked together almost 15 years at this point, haven't you? Were all years of pent up sexual tension worth it?" she shots straight to the point, switching into lawyer mode

"Wow, 15 years of that. I can't believe neither of you caved before now" she adds

Right. They didn't know about her past with Harvey. She supposes she's got nothing to lose at this point.

"You don't have to answer that" Katrina reassures her

"It's alright, I don't mind. Yes, it was worth the wait, but I'd say it's only been about 12 years of build up" she smirks, cheeks reddening

"You're saying you two didn't flirt with each other when you started to work together. Bullshit" Samantha states

"I don't think that's what she means" Katrina says, catching on to where Donna was going with her statement

Samantha looks from Katrina to Donna and picks up on the unspoken words, "Oh my god, no wonder you two make eyes at each other the way you do! When?"

"When we left the DA's office" she answers

"Why didn't you?..." Katrina begins to ask before being cut off by Donna

"Because neither of us was ready. And sometimes timing is everything" she adjusts the words she'd told Rachel years prior, realizing it wasn't just Harvey who wasn't ready back then.

"And this time was?" Samantha prompts

"Better than I remembered. Which is saying a lot" she says, causing all three girls to giggle

"What's so funny ladies?" Harvey asks joining the group

"Nothing" they all call in unison, before Katrina and Samantha excuse themselves to grab their bags

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" he turns to Donna

"Just some typical girl talk, nothing you need to worry about" she grins, placing a kiss on his cheek before grabbing her bag and heading towards the waiting cab

"Word of advice Harvey" Louis calls out

"Girl talk, is always something you need to worry about"

"Thanks Louis" he smiles as they follow Donna out the door

"How did everything go last night?" Louis asks

"It was perfect. I couldn't have pulled it off without your help"

"For you two, anything" Louis grins

Harvey places his bag in the trunk and is about to slide into the cab next to Donna as Louis calls over to him from his cab,

"Hey Harvey, I'm really happy for you guys, I can't think of two people more deserving of finding love"

"Thanks Louis" he smiles before slipping into the cab.

"Want to join the mile high club?"

"Harveyyy" she warns

"Is that a yes?" he raises an eyebrow in question

"You're an idiot" she rolls her eyes, allowing him to slip his arm around her waist and pull her in for a kiss.

They're seated next to each other on the plane, thanks to Gretchen who was willing to switch seats with Harvey and sit with Louis, Shelia and Samantha and in the row behind them.

He deeps the kiss, practically sliding her into his own seat before Gretchen clears her throat from behind them.

"Easy there Casanova, we can all still see you" she calls to Harvey, causing Donna to pull back from the kiss, blushing

She wasn't usually a fan of PDA but when it came to Harvey, she couldn't help herself from feeling like a horny teenager who just couldn't keep her hands to herself. Judging by the way he still held her waist, she assumed he was feeling the same way.

"I could get you a blindfold?" he teases

"Or you could keep your hands off Red until we hit the ground" she quips back

Harvey raises his hands in the air in fake surrender which causes Donna to laugh even harder than she already was at Gretchen's comment.

"Oh, common Gretchen, it's been almost twelve years since they slept together give the man a break" Samantha tries to help

The comment almost goes unnoticed, until Louis pipes up, taking in what Samantha actually said

"12 years? They're worked together longer than that. They've only been at the firm for that long" Louis voices his thought process as both Harvey and Donna face in front of them, trying not to make eye contact with Louis

"Oh my god!" Louis exclaims "I'm going to need a day"

Harvey leans over and whispers in her ear, "This is going to be one long flight. Are you sure you don't want to take me up on my offer?"

"As fun as that sounds, why don't you come over tonight instead?" she smirks

"Donna Paulsen, we both have to work tomorrow" he teases

"When have you ever been on time on a Monday morning?"

"What if I planned on starting tomorrow?"

"Then I guess I'll just have to find something else to use that whip cream in my fridge for" she teases back

"You're going to be the death of me" he grins, pulling her back towards him for a kiss.

1 year and a bit later...

She always said she hated PDA. And yet there he was, hand placed on her lower back, guiding her across the room as they greet a few of the partners, with him she didn't mind the PDA.

She was happy, happier than she'd ever been. She grabs onto his forearm as he makes her laugh and blushes as he whispers just how beautiful she looks into her ear.

He can't believe that a year ago at an event just like this he watched her from the bar on another mans arms. A year ago, he drowned his sorrows in alcohol as he wondered how he let her get away.

He follows her onto the dance floor as the music starts up, pulling her into his arms and swaying them both to the music. It was almost surreal. To be here at a firm event, with her in his arms. Their transition from friends had been simple, and clients never seemed to question the relationship between the firms name partner and COO, it just seemed natural.

They were a definite power couple, working any room they walked into. They didn't spend every event side by side, they often had their own business to attend to, but tonight was different. Tonight, he was holding her close and thanking the stars that he finally had everything he'd ever dreamed of. His hands hold her close as hers are wrapping around his neck. They move to the music, not needing any words, simply enjoying each others company. He's whispering into her ear when a familiar voice interrupts.

"Surprised you still know how to dance, old man"

Donna's eyes widen as she spots the young couple standing behind Harvey. Harvey turns around, releasing Donna from his arms.

"Surprised you finally own some fatter ties" he calls back, pulling Mike in for a hug as Donna does the same with Rachel

"Let me see it!" Rachel squeals as Donna holds out her hand, showing off a sparkling engagement ring

"Wow Harvey you picked that out yourself?" Mike remarks

"I have good taste" he tries to defend himself

"How long are you guys here for?" Donna asks

"We were planning on staying the weekend if you guys aren't busy"

"What do you say we get out of here and grab a drink?" Harvey asks

"Sounds perfect, we have some catching up to do" Rachel grins, looping her arm through Donna's as they head towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's hoping for a Darvey endgame!
> 
> Much love - Sarah xx

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hope you all enjoy Ch 1! I would love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> As for what's in store for this one, I can promise it's going to be something new, something angsty, and something fun. It's going to have Thomas, a jealous Harvey, a suddenly emotionally available jealous Harvey, a confused Donna, an impending firm retreat, and if you're lucky; a happy ending ;)
> 
> Happy reading! - xx Sarah


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